The Dance
by aidan bard
Summary: There’s only so much you can do as friends. How do you know when to overstep that boundary? Yaoi, 1x5 Complete
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Dance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam wing universe or any of the Gundam Wing characters. I'm doing this for fun.

**Pairing:** Main 1x5 Mentions of 3x4 and 2xHilde

**Warnings:** Yaoi, Romance, humor, spoilers to Endless Waltz

**Rating:** NC 17

**Archive:** my lj under aidannwn

**Betaed :**by Stray (greyhunter)

**Summary:** There's only so much you can do as friends. How do you know when to overstep that boundary?

**Request:** Crystal asked me to write a 1x5 and since I had this plot inside my head, I thought I'd give it a shot. This may not be what you expected, but this is the best I can do. Hope you like it.

P.s. I'll hop back to Insecurities once this plot bunny is out of my head.

a/n – Sharine is a sort of common name where I come from which was why I picked it. It's a westernized version of a local name. I thought it made an interesting combination.

The Dance -1 / 2 (I hope)

Wufei wasn't sure if the smell came from the rotting body at his feet or from the putrid mud around it. He scowled, tasting the foul odor in the back of his mouth and fought the urge to spit. It would not do to act so unprofessionally at a crime scene, no matter how contaminated it was. He looked at the body, partially exposed from beneath the green plastic warp, in the process of being secured for transportation with all the drippy bits intact, and then looked around, narrowing his eyes against the wind.

The price of real estate had gone up within the city and construction companies were snapping up land wherever possible, even those that had been considered unsuitable for human habitation a year ago. This had led to the Reclaiming of Land project, which had been a great success, despite the protests from the environmentalists. The draining of the polluted lake in the middle of the city had been the direct result of this new campaign to increase the accommodation for the masses. The end result was to be a high rise tower for an excusive neighborhood. But half way through the process of dredging the bottom, one of the machines had brought up a body, head partially caved in, warped in more metal chains than one could find in an S&M shop.

Wufei looked around as Sharine walked up to him, grimacing at the sound of suction made by her boots as the mud refused to let go of them. She was his last chance as a field agent. Lady Une had given him an ultimatum after he had gone through eight partners in four months. Either he stuck with someone or he was going to be assigned to a desk with a computer terminal. After his the disastrous accident in the subway, there was no way he was going to be allowed to operate alone.

It was not as if he could complain. Sharine was female but she was also an orphan like him and did not have any attachments to the real world. She pulled night shifts without a word of complain though that could have been because they had dated before becoming partners and she still entertained the possibility that they might get back together eventually. She flirted with him in their free time but it was non-obtrusive and she was perfectly professional during business hours, so he did not have much to complain about. Though the time she had shown up at his apartment in a slinky dress had been far from amusing…

"Anything?" Wufei asked briefly, hoping the medical team would get over with it. The man was obviously dead (if the body was that of a man and not a partially decomposed woman – you could never tell with these people and sex-change operations nowadays) and had been dead for some time – being placed little too roughly on the stretcher was not going to hurt it. The heavy machinery going over the site had obliterated any clues unless it was the size of a Gundam and the rain from the previous day had done the rest.

"Two more sets of bones," she answered with a scowl, as she regarded her mud-spluttered Preventer uniform. "I think dogs… or they had large cats thrown in for fun. One even has a collar but the end result is, there's going to be dozen people crawling in the mud looking for more bodies."

"We are going to have a couple of pissed off contractors on our hands," Wufei said philosophically. "Make sure to give them Lady Une's number. I don't want to deal with this bureaucratic red tape any more than necessary."

"Already done," Sharine said with a small smile. "They seem to be wrapping up things so how about we head out?"

"Fine," said Wufei, though by then, his nose had grown insensate and he did not want to appear too eager to leave the place. Being able to order the juniors to comb through the mud was a relief but he feared that they might miss out on some vital bit of information in their hurry to get indoors before the next downpour. He gave the body one last glance and then looked at one of the junior officers who had been hovering close by. "What is it?" he asked the boy (amazing, he had been that age not long ago) who was looking slightly green around the edges.

"The recordings from the questioning, Sir," the boy said, holding out the data collected that day. "The questioning is still underway, but people around here don't want to talk to us and…" Typical of this type of neighborhood; here the law was the enemy "…and since it seems as if you're leaving, I thought you'd like to go over what we have so far." At least the kid was enthusiastic if a little kiss-ass type. Wufei could remember the time when someone calling him 'sir' had sounded strange. Now, after five years at Preventers, he no longer cringed but he wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to it.

The kid handed the file and recorder to Sharine -- a part of the protocol which said you did not hand over anything directly to a superior officer. Though it was a rather stupid rule, it had saved quite a few lives of the senior staff. Then the kid did a close turn fit for a military parade ground, slipped on the mud and grabbed Sharine as he went down. She in turn grabbed hold of the closest thing for balance, which happened to be Wufei's leg.

1111111111111111

"Just like old times," Sharine said with a teasing smile and Wufei had to smile at the familiar tone. They had dated briefly – the expected single guy and girl in the office hook up thing. They had gone on a couple of dinners, drinks and there were good night kisses. It had been nothing spectacular; no fireworks, no irresistible urge to grope each other all the time and definitely no sex. Kissing her was like any other kiss Wufei could remember – slightly warm, wet and squishy. She had felt too soft and vulnerable in his arms and he had been afraid to hold her too close in case he hurt her. It was ridiculous, he knew, Sharine was a tough cookie who could outrun, out-gun and out-kick most of her male colleagues. But she was also five feet tall, blond and slender – a combination which made her look more fragile and delicate.

When he had called the whole thing off after five dinners, two lunches and three coffee dates, Wufei had been relieved. Being friends with her was easier than trying to get into her pants – not that he was sure he wanted to. He knew she still liked him and she would not say no to a quick fuck but now that they were partners, Wufei drew a line between work and pleasure. He was just grateful they were friends – he did not need any in-office affair complicating his life.

But they were used to each other after working together for three years and so used to crashing into each other's apartments add odd hours that Wufei did not even think for a second before letting her in. His one bedroom apartment was on the fifth floor of a small condo, which was not too expensive, but roomy and had an excellent view of the city. It was also closer to the bog than her apartment.

"I call the shower first," Sharine said with a laugh.

"My apartment," Wufei said with a wry grin knowing he had lost already. "And might I remind you, it was your fault I'm covered in mud."

"Uh," said Sharine with a playful grin. "You clean the mud out of the records. Some of it might be salvageable. I'm going to borrow your clothes, ok?" And then she was gone.

"There's an extra toothbrush in the cabinet behind the mirror," he shouted, in case she mistook one of the two sitting in the clear glass holder as a spare. Wufei shrugged, put aside his bag and the mud-covered material, then proceeded to take off his boots. They were covered in mud up to the rim and even his socks were brown; at least he didn't have a carpet. He dropped his boots onto the floor and grimaced at the sight before him– his entire living room floor was covered with mud tracks form Sharine's boots. He was going to kill that woman the moment she was out of the shower.

He stood in his living room, stripping off his clothes one by one and tossing them onto the odd wooden bowl on the side of the coffee table. He wasn't sure what it was intended for originally- he kept it to collect odd ends he needed in the middle of the living room. It was made of wood and therefore was unsuitable for the bathroom and the holes in the middle made it inappropriate for the kitchen. But Wufei did not believe in throwing away the one and only gift he had received from Heero Yuy.

-------------111111111111111111---------

The first time Heero had shown up at his apartment had been three days after Wufei had moved into it. He was despondently going through the motions of tiding up his new home (which wasn't much since his meager belongings did not even make a dent in the space) when the front door had sung open and there stood Heero Yuy holding a ridiculous looking wooden bowl.

"House-warming gift," said Heero, trusting it into Wufei's hands as if it was going to bite.

"Thanks," Wufei said automatically, glad of the company even if it was Heero. He was still embarrassed over the whole I-worked-for-Barton Foundation-thing but lonely enough to feel grateful for Heero's gesture. The fact he was now working for the Preventers and wearing a uniform did not mean he had all his problems squared away and was getting around to being a regular guy overnight.

"I was going to get it wrapped but thought it would be better not to," Heero said when Wufei did not say anything else.

"It's …fine," Wufei said at a loss of anything else to say. 'What is it' and it's interesting' were not far behind but seemed inappropriate at the moment. He knew the lift was out of order and Yuy must have carried the heavy –er –thing up five flights of steps which was a feat in it self. He looked for a place to keep it and deposited it in the center of the coffee table which was free of any packing material. He now had to turn around and face Heero, something he did not want to do..

Wufei could not get over the feeling of dread that had gripped his stomach when he had shot Wing into the sea. A part of him had been shocked by his actions while another had screamed at the loss. When Heero had miraculously emerged from the sea to shoot down the shelter where Relena was being held, Wufei had mentally cheered him on. He had wanted to say he was sorry, but the chance had never come up and now it seemed too late. Heero seemed to have forgotten the incident and Wufei was not going to bring up unpleasant memories when he was trying to put the past behind him.

"How are you?" Heero asked suddenly making Wufei spin around.

"Fine," he said shortly then stopped. This was Yuy trying to have decent conversation with him. "You all right?"

"Hn," Heero said walking into the apartment. Wufei realized he hadn't actually invited Heero in – had left him standing in the threshold like some unwelcome guest – but Heero did not seem to mind his rudeness. He looked around then fixed his blue eyes intently on Wufei and said abruptly. "Is it alright if I stay here a couple of days? I could go looking for a hotel but until our IDs get processed I'd rather…"

"You can stay as long as you want," Wufei said quickly. Perhaps shade too quickly since he was getting lonely. He was not wanted at the Preventer office until the following week and he was still adjusting to a life without missions, Gundams and mobile dolls. It was actually a little boring –surprising how much he had thrived on adrenaline and two-hour cat naps.

But Heero had not questioned his invitation, taking it at face value. They had fallen into an easy routine; take outs, moving stuff upstairs and simply sitting there facing the window which over looked the city. They did not have a TV to watch so they occasionally went jogging and Heero read most of Wufei's poetry collection –or rather he flipped through the pages while Wufei read. During the war, Wufei had been too self-conscious to bring out his reading glasses and pick up a book. It was a side of him which he did not want others to see –but with Heero, he was able to relax enough to dig out a long forgotten volume of Chaucer and read Wife of Bath out loud for fun. It had even made Heero crack a smile- especially since Wufei made appropriate comments about women to punctuate certain lines.

The day before Wufei was to start working at the Preventers Heero announced he was leaving.

"Where're you going?" Wufei asked surprised by the sudden shift. The odd sensation in his chest was something he did not want to examine closely.

"You have work," Heero said shortly. "And I don't think I'm a house wife."

The odd comment had Wufei blinking for a moment, then he nodded. "Where will you go?" he asked instead.

"Somewhere," Heero shrugged. "I'll be back."

Wufei did not ask when. It was not his place to ask such things. Heero usually kept his promises and 'I'll be back', though it sounded like something from a bad movie, was all the reassurance he needed.

"You have the Preventer issued bike don't you?" Heero asked, changing the subject. "Think you can give me a lift to the airport on your way to work?"

-------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11----

"Shower's free," Sharine said as she emerged from Wufei bedroom, dressed in a long white shirt. It reached her knees and made her look like a little girl dressed in her father's clothes. He only wore those around the house now since he was no longer a child. It did not look right for him to dress like a Chinese bell boy at an expensive hotel just because he felt like flaunting his nationality or his own brand of fashion sense.

"Here," said Wufei, thrusting the case folder towards her. "Go over it if you can but clean up the damn floor woman."

"You are a slave driver," Sharine said as she pulled the folder out of his grip with a scowl. She had been partnered with him for almost a year so his insults were as effective as a machine gun against a Gundam.

"You'll get used to it," Wufei said with a smile as he had walked through his bedroom into the shower. Sharine had left his side of the clothes drawer open; he knew that the small collection of odd ends he kept in the other side puzzled her but so far she had never questioned the side reserved for Heero. In a way it was reassuring even if the articles of clothes left behind were nothing more than a shirt and a trouser. It meant Heero would be coming back- the same as the spare toothbrush in the bathroom.

Wufei removed the rest of his uniform, stepped into the cubicle and smiled. The stupid woman had actually left him some hot water. Perhaps she wasn't too bad after all. As Wufei washed himself, he smiled at the mirror's reflection, a memento left behind by the previous owner. He was taller than he had been at 15, hovering around 5 foot 11, his hair was longer and he had more scars on his body. He fingered the most distinctive one, a seven inch gash across his stomach resembling a half smile drawn on a cartoon face.

It had been no smiling matter when he had gotten it, an unexpected present from a low down pick pocket he had apprehended on the subway. The sorry-looking individual of some questionable breeding, rats nest of a hair-do and track marks down his arms, had been threatening an elderly man when Wufei had knocked away his hand gun with a well placed kick, then broken his nose for good measure. He had confiscated three knives, one tazer and knuckleduster when the man had produced a flick knife from under his hair and stabbed Wufei in the middle. The perp had also wrestled the knuckleduster off Wufei and given him a wallop on the head before taking off faster than Sonic the hedgehog.

-----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1----

When Wufei walked into his apartment afterwards, a hand protecting his middle, Heero had been tapping away at his lap top in a corner.

"It's been almost a year," Wufei said in a rough voice.

"I was busy," Heero replied evenly without looking up. "You need to change your locks."

"I'll take notice of that," Wufei said, walking in gingerly and lowering himself on to the sofa. Suddenly, Heero had been there, hiking up his shirt and frowning at the plaster.

"You need a partner," Heero said with a scowl.

"I am fine," Wufei said abruptly. The local anesthesia was wearing off and Heero's fingers against his bare skin over his belt sent a jolt of …something. He inhaled sharply and Heero withdrew his had swiftly.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Your hands are cold," Wufei said defensively. "The nerves are coming around after the anesthetic patch," he added. "You staying for long this time?" He always promised himself he'd never ask Heero to stay and he still did.

Heero was the only one of them who did not have steady home base. Duo was, as the long-haired pilot himself had said once, living in sin with Hilde, and they were even considering adopting some children. Trowa performed a lot on L4 with and without his circus and Quatre, it seemed was always there to see his performances.

None of them ever knew where Heero went or what he did. It was almost as if Heero did not want to settle down – instead he seemed to wander the world, occasionally stopping for a quick visit. However, Duo had once pointed out, Heero did drop in on Wufei a little more often than on anyone else, and Wufei had joked that it was because Heero found it easier to tap into his computer and hack in to the Preventer database. In reality, they never talked about what they did – Heero never questioned Wufei about work and Wufei never asked Heero where he had been.

"Until you are back on your feet," Heero replied.

"Two days," Wufei felt slightly disappointed. It was going to be a short visit.

"A week at least,," Heero corrected.

"We'll see," Wufei argued for the sake of saying something. He was not going to let Heero dictate his life just by showing up once in a blue moon.

Heero stayed much longer, almost a month that time, doing some freelance computer work for Lady Une. Wufei's injuries had healed faster than expected and was on his feet in no time. He was on his bike sooner.

He always gave Heero a lift to work on his bike. With his seniority he had been offered a car but he preferred the feel of the powerful machine between his legs. It was almost sexual, the smoothness, feeling the machine respond to his smallest nudge, knowing that the slightest mistake on his part at his speeds could mean instant death. But the feel of wind in his hair was addictive (he did not believe in helmets) and Heero's arms around his middle…

It was rather strange that Heero needed to hold anything when he was on the bike with Wufei. The first time the arm had snaked around his waist, Wufei had jumped. He never took anyone else on his bike and only Heero dared to be so …_intimate_ with him. They always reached the Preventer office in fifteen minutes, a record in the rush hour traffic, and as they were within sight of the building the hand around Wufei's waist would leave to rest casually on Heero's knee. The process of transferring the hand was always unsettling, the brush of those fingers as they caressed across his abdomen, feather-light and tingling, before leaving altogether. It made Wufei want to shout at Heero to make up his mind to either hold on to him or let go…that grip was almost teasing, something which did not compute since it was Heero Yuy.

Wufei almost always hopped off his bike in the underground garage, intent of facing down Heero about it, but each and every time Heero's face would be as blank as formatted hard disk, leaving Wufei with the feeling that he had overreacted.

"I don't suppose you like slow dancing," he'd said once as he had dismounted. "You hold you partner and spin her around." He remembered holding Sharine around the waist at one of the office functions he had attended. Dancing had come naturally to him and he had enjoyed himself.

"I prefer ballet, myself," Heero said blankly.

-----------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---

Wufei switched off the shower and stepped out in his towel when he heard the door bell ring. He hastily put on a pair of white pants -- the pants for the white shirt Sharine was wearing -- and made his way into the living room. His heart was pounding slightly but that was due to nervousness, not excitement. He did not get many visitors and only three people had ever visited him in the apartment.

He did not think Sally was in the habit of making night visits, it being close to midnight and Sharine was already in the house, which left Heero. It was too soon, his commonsense told him, Heero did not make such frequent visits and his last stay had been barely two months ago. Wufei blushed at the memory of that incident, though it really was nothing to blush about since… well…it was …nothing…

He was an adult; and he had a job, a nice partner who was trying to get into his pants and was probably sitting on his sofa in his shirt, and no underwear. Most importantly, there was also an unidentified, decomposed body (though how that counted as anything he wasn't sure) so he did not go into the living room expecting to see Heero Yuy

There was no one there except Sharine, looking slightly puzzled.

"Wrong number?" he asked casually, pushing back a wet strand of hair.

"Uh," said Sharine with a shake of her head. "It was that guy from the office."

"What did he want?" Wufei asked curiously. There had to have been a major break in the investigation for the office to send someone over to his apartment. He'd have to deal with the gossip when it got around that the person who had answered his door had been his partner wearing nothing but a men's shirt but still…"Did they get a lead on the chains?" The chains on the body had been the only solid clue and…

"No," Sharine said. "That guy…um…you know…I don't think he's really a Preventer…"

"The coroners' office?" Wufei prompted.

"That part-time computer guy Une hired," Sharine said finally. "Sort of messy hair, blue eyes…"

"Heero!" Wufei felt the words burst from his lips before he could help it. "Where is he?"

"He just left," Sharine said in a slightly vapid way which made Wufei annoyed. "I asked him if he wanted something but he sort of turned around and walked off."

"Shit," said Wufei rushing to the door. He pulled it open, cursing when the security chain forced him to shut it again to flick it off and then he was out in the corridor, looking at the lift. It was out of order so he rushed to the stairs and looked down the spiral. Far below, he could see a dark spot which could be Heero's head …or a large spider …his eyesight was not as reliable as the rest of his body. He ran down the steps two at time until he reached the second landing then vaulted over the railing to the next and finally reached the ground floor in record time. He ran through the glass revolving door cursing his bare feet.

"Heero!" Wufei reached the open lobby, feeling stupid now that he had reached the person he was running after. Heero had stopped walking the moment Wufei had burst out of the building calling his name and Wufei felt pretty silly about running the rest of the way. But when he reached Heero he wondered if Heero had also run down to cover such a distance in so little a time. With the lift out of order there was no way Heero could have reached the lobby let alone the outside enclosure unless he had taken the steps three at a time. Waiting for Heero to explain his abrupt departure, Wufei stood patiently trying to see if there was any indication that Heero had been running all the way down. Heero wasn't out of breath but then again, neither was Wufei.

"I thought you'd be…_busy_," Heero said stressing the last word to imply something else.

"That's Sharine," Wufei said stupidly, feeling the first of the rain drops fall on his head. "She's my partner."

"She's not…what I expected," Heero said with a frown.

"Your fault," Wufei said childishly. "You were the one who told Une either I get a partner or I be re-located to paper pushing."

"I was hoping they'd pair you up with someone other than a…" Heero said searching for the proper word to describe the blonde upstairs. "…woman." He'd finally found the perfect word to describe Sharine.

"Who were you hoping for?" Wufei asked, slightly snidely.

"Someone like Craver, maybe," Heero said after thoughtful consideration as if Wufei had asked a serious question and not made a sarcastic comment.

"That man is a total slob," Wufei said, remembering his partner number three who had lasted four days with him. "He had – still has bad breath and with that pot belly of his, he'd never be able to keep up with me."

"A pot belly is the least of your problems," Heero said, letting his gaze sweep over Wufei's body making the Chinese Preventer aware of his hastily dressed state.

Wufei was wearing his white trousers, drawstring pulled but not tied so they hung dangerously loose on his hips. That was the only bit of clothing he wore since his shirt and shoes were back in his apartment. He did not even have his underwear on. And his hair, still wet from the shower, was getting a second sluicing in cold rain water. He was starting to become aware of his body in the cold as goose bumps started to rise, the after-effects of dashing into a cold downpour after a hot shower.

Feeling his nipples harden into tiny nubs, he crossed his arms across his chest defensively. Suddenly, there was a weight around his shoulder and he was not as cold as he had been before. Startled, he looked up to feel Heero draping his overcoat over his shoulders.

"I'm not some stupid woman you need to practice your chivalry on," Wufei snapped self-consciously.

"I'm warm," said Heero pointing out his own long sleeved jumper underneath. "You were wet when you came out"

"I was in the shower," Wufei said grumpily, enjoying the warmth created by the inner layer of the coat around his shoulder. It was a semi-long, reaching to mid thigh on Heero, and in Wufei's case -his knees. "Otherwise she would not have answered the door. Come back in."

"I do not want to intrude on your time together," Heero said, looking away.

"She's my partner," Wufei said a little wryly as Heero picked up his traveling bag, he had deposited on the ground to take off his coat. "I see her everyday."

"Does she wear your clothes everyday?" Heero asked dryly.

"Hers' are muddy," Wufei explained. He put out a hand, gripped Heero by the upper arms and tried to steer the human shaped block of concrete back towards the staircase. "Let's go in before I catch a cold," he finally said. Heero seemed to accept that since he let Wufei lead him towards the building, though he seemed to falter as they reached the stairs. "We are not screwing, despite rumors," Wufei bit out forcefully and Heero stopped short.

"There are rumors?" he asked. "I know you two were dating briefly but I thought you'd broken off."

Wufei did not question how Heero knew since it was pretty useless. Heero seemed rather up to date on whatever happened around the former Gundam pilots -- even the petty gossip which mostly passed off as trivial.

"We are not together," Wufei repeated evenly. It was very important that Heero understood that, though he wasn't sure why.

"So now you simply have casual sex?" Heero pursued.

"That's big of you," Wufei snapped back before blushing at the memory of their last meeting. "I'm sorry…" he said looking away as they started up the stairs. "It's not my place to bring up such things."

"Don't get so formal," Heero said with a shake of his head. "You didn't say anything to offend me."

"I know but…" Wufei said struggling to express the feeling that had emerged the last time Heero had visited him.

"Is she going to spend the night?" Heero asked, changing the subject evenly.

--------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11--------------

Sharine looked for the world as if she was going to spend the rest of her life in Wufei's apartment. She was still dressed in the white shirt; her hair was swept back into a bun and looked as if she had been padding around on bare feet in his shirts forever. She had started dinner in their absence and looked up, slightly annoyed when Heero stepped into the room.

"Is he staying for dinner?" she asked as if she was a wife who was annoyed her husband had brought unexpected guests at the last moment.

"He's not a guest," Wufei ground out, feeling annoyed, when he saw Heero stiffen. In his mind, his apartment was as much Heero's as his and he did not like the fact his partner was making his friend feel uncomfortable. "He lives here." It was all he could do to stop himself from picking her up and throwing her off the balcony. Her flirting had been nice, he would be lying if he did not like a beautiful woman focusing all her attentions on him. But with Heero around, her attention was starting to border on downright annoying.

"Go wash up," Wufei said to Heero, noting that Sharine had brought out his dinner set, a house warming present from Sally, again making Heero shift a little. When they had spent time together, they had always ordered takeout and eaten it sitting on the sofa. Neither one of them had been into cooking, though at the times Sharine had come over he had tossed up something.

"If you can mix the rice and the salad," Sharine suggested, making Wufei grit his teeth. True, when together, they did cook and Wufei was starting discover that he did really like to cook up something on his own instead of eating food that tasted like cardboard out of Styrofoam boxes. But she didn't have to act as if they did it every day of the week, as regularly as brushing teeth.

"Uh," said Heero.

"Your clothes are still there," Wufei said ignoring Shrine for the time being. "Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Watching Heero's retreating back, Wufei wondered if he should tell Sharine to put some clothes on but then again decided that it just might provoke her into doing something more drastic. He noticed Heero had deposited his bag on the coffee table and tried hard not to blush at the memory of the previous visit which was still fresh in his mind. This time, unlike before, he did not try to move it.

The previous visit, Wufei remembered, had been different. He had been sorting his paper work on the sofa when Heero had knocked on the door and Wufei had left most of the files scattered on the cushions as he'd stood up to let his (occasional) flat mate in. As usual Heero had dropped his bag in its usual spot only that time, the edge of the Preventer case file, which was also occupying the same spot, had gotten caught underneath the bag. Wufei had picked up the bag, intending to move it on to the coffee table when the contents had spilled out of it.

"Yuy," said Wufei, startled as a handful of clothes and other articles landed on the carpet. "I didn't know the zip was open." He looked up at Heero who was staring at the contents on the floor with something close to …embarrassment. Wufei frowned; he was clearly mistaken since there was nothing in the Universe that could make the unflappable Yuy to feel uncomfortable over. Then he followed Heero's gaze toward the floor and saw the reason. Scattered on the floor like small disks were condoms.

"Oh," said Wufei feeling strange. He slid off the chair onto the floor and started to collect them one by one, picking them up with one hand placing them on the palm of the other- counting them in his head. He knew the brand very well, advertised to be super thin, super-strong, durable, washable but also dissolved if it is put into the right solution– and had been indirectly a part of one of his recent investigations.

The last time he'd held such a thing in his palm had been the week before when the local airport customs officers had called them after one of their passengers had dropped dead of an overdose. The medical examination that followed showed that the man had been trying to smuggle drugs, wrapped in condoms and swallowed, just prior to the flight. Unfortunately, the man had been greedy and had stuffed them with far too much, and one the condoms had burst inside him. Which meant Wufei had had to follow up every lead available to locate the origin of the contraband. The condoms, he'd found out, were freely available in any and every drug store and came in special discount packs of ten. He counted seven condoms that had fallen out of Heero's bag.

Since Heero was unlikely to be moonlighting as drug mule,, though Wufei had no idea what he did for a living, the only other reason for him to have such a thing in his bag was that he was using it for its intended purpose. And he'd done _it_ at least three times. Unless there were extra condoms inside the bag …or unless Heero really did believe in washing and reusing…in which case he'd done it more than three times. Or he could have bought three packs and then he had used it 23 times.

Wufei had come to the conclusion that his own sex life had ground to a halt somewhere between him joining the Preventers and the time he started to date Sharine, not that he had much of a sex life to boast about before that. He had gone to a couple of clubs with his fellow workers in the beginning, when he'd been under the impression that to fit in, he had to partake in some group activities. He had even tried to discover the pleasures of casual sex with a couple of nameless, faceless females who frequented such clubs. In the end, he'd given up on it, preferring to return home after work to wash his socks. It just wasn't him - it left him feeling cheapened and dirty.

But to imagine Heero with a sex life – was almost impossible. It made him feel betrayed though why he could not justify. When he thought about his fellow Gundam pilots, he accepted they had normal lives with normal (again, that was something he did not want to think too deeply about) sex. He did not feel – the word to describe what he felt was – jealous, he reasoned, by the discovery that Heero had a sex life. He did not, really, he simply felt hollow. He could not understand why – perhaps because he identified more with Heero than any of the others, and the thought of Heero doing something ordinary like _that_ was unsettling. Perhaps, if Heero found someone whom he liked, maybe he would settle down – not drop in on Wufei at random intervals. That made Wufei pause, even as he stuffed all of Heero's belongings back into his backpack and handed it over.

He looked up, from his semi-kneeling position on the floor at Heero and then blushed when he realized Heero had been watching him handle the condoms.

"Hope you're not putting too much trust in those things," Wufei said, to cover the uncomfortable silence. "They burst when you least expect."

"Uh," said Heero looking as if it was one conversation he'd rather not be having. "I'll…remember that," he'd finally said before disappearing into Wufei's bedroom.

Wufei had been left wondering if things had changed irrevocably between them until Heero had shown up at the doorway to ask if he was coming to bed.

-------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---------------

"You are sleeping… where?" Sharine asked in a high pitched whisper which was far more audible than normal speech. Wufei looked over his partners' shoulder, through the open kitchen door, at Heero who was standing stiffly by the mantle over the fake fireplace, his back to them. An ordinary person might not have heard the conversation being carried out in the next room in low voices, but Wufei was sure his friend could hear every word they were saying.

"My bed," Wufei repeated himself. "I'm going to sleep in my bed."

"With him," Sharine said as if Wufei had said something utterly ridiculously and she wanted him to dispute it.

"Yes, unless he prefers to sleep in the shower cubicle," Wufei said a little sharply. "You can have the sofa like you always do -unless you'd prefer I call you a taxi home."

"And he always sleeps in your bed when he comes over?" Sharine asked in disbelief. "Not on the sofa?"

"He's close to six feet," Wufei replied. "He wouldn't fit into it."

"But you would," Sharine said pointedly. "Barely, but you would."

"So you want to share the bed with Heero?" Wufei snapped irritably. "While I sleep on the sofa."

"No!" Sharine said forcefully. After the cold glances exchanged during dinner, Wufei would have been surprised if either of them would have been willing to be in the same room without supervision. Anyway, it was not a genuine offer, just something Wufei had said in sarcasm. Heero always slept in his bedroom, in his bed, with him. It was a longstanding tradition he did not believe in changing.

It had been something that had been established when Heero and he had been sharing the apartment in the beginning. Then, there had been no floor carpeting and definitely no sofa, so they had settled to sleeping in the same bed. Afterwards, it had become commonplace for them to share the bed, even after Wufei had brought the sofa. The king-sized bed had been a housewarming gift from Quatre and Trowa – which spoke volumes about the relationship those two were in – and it was far too large for one person.

Not that Wufei had ever shared it with anyone other than Heero and he had no intention of doing so either.

"Is that your final word?" Sharine demanded. "Let him sleep on the sofa …or better yet, get a hotel room somewhere. We hardly get any time to ourselves…" Wufei overrode her last comment, not even wanting to dwell into that territory.

Turn out Heero as if he was some unwelcome house guest… "Most certainly not," Wufei said before he realized he had said it far too loudly and Heero was looking at him over the shoulder. "No," he said in a lower voice. "End of conversation." He stormed into the sitting room just as Heero turned around fully to face him.

"Maybe I should leave," Heero said, confirming Wufei's fear that the conversation had been overheard.

"Of course not," Wufei said hastily. "Sharine always gets a little touchy during certain times of the month." He was not stupid enough to say the last bit loud enough to be overheard. He wanted to stay on as a field agent as long as possible and he did not have a death wish.

"Hn," Heero's lips twitched. "She's rather overwhelming isn't she?"

"She's the best partner I've had," Wufei said truthfully. "She is persistent about all aspects of life – a very strong person."

"Does she always get what she wants?" Heero asked looking straight into Wufei eyes.

"I think she always wanted to grow an extra inch, height-wise," Wufei said with a shrug, avoiding the real question. While he did not want Heero to think he and Sharine were going at it like rabbits, he was not over the whole "Heero might be having sex with someone else" issue. Not that Heero shouldn't or anything like that, but yet…It was still a persistent thorn inside him – that someone else might be entertaining Heero in her bed, sharing…

"I was on L2 for a while," Heero deftly changed the subject. Wufei looked up startled; Heero hardly ever said where he'd been, which meant…

"How's Duo?"

"He's adopted two kids," Heero said, moving towards the bedroom and Wufei followed. "A girl and a boy – they seemed rather nice. Called me Uncle Heero…" those lips twitched again, this time in a fond smile and Wufei frowned. Heero actually liked kids, now there was a surprise. Did that mean he planned on starting a family of his own?

"How long were you there?" Wufei asked. He was feeling slightly curious as though whether Heero had spent more time with Duo and his family than with him. Perhaps the children and everything was more of a lure to someone weary of wandering than Wufei's sterile apartment.

"Two weeks," Heero said as he sat on the corner of Wufei bed. "I ran into Trowa and Quatre at a relay station, on my way back," he added with a smile.

"How are those two?" Wufei asked as he took off the loose t-shirt and flopped back into bed. He was still dressed in his white pants and was not going to change into anything else.

"Quatre wants Trowa to stop doing the high wire act," Heero said, dropping the nugget of information as if it was nothing. "Trowa thinks Quatre is putting on weight." Then he leaned back and turned towards Wufei. "They all sent you their love and were hoping you'd be there for our get-together next month."

"As if I'd miss that," Wufei said with a smile. Despite their busy schedule the five of them always met once in two months at various locations. Those meetings never lasted longer than two days or so but it was something they all looked forward to. It made them all feel close. Though -- Wufei reflected -- they were also bounded through Heero who, like an invisible thread, helped them keep in touch. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon," he said sleepily. Then he continued quickly in case Heero thought he meant he was not welcome. "It's a pleasant surprise." Now, did he sound too eager? "You usually stay away longer between visits." Now, would Heero think he counted days between those visits like some love-sick teenager? He had to change the subject fast. "How's Relena?"

"Trying to convince her brother that Mars Colony isn't all it's cracked up to be," Heero said dryly.

"No more job offers," Wufei said before he could help it.

Heero shook his head. "Even she knows when to give up."

"That's nice," said Wufei then cursed his tongue. Why was it that around Heero he always said twice as much as he meant to?

"So, ready for the surgery?" Heero asked casually.

"Uh!"

"You are planning on going through with it this time, aren't you?" the gentle admonition wasn't lost to Wufei who blushed then looked away. His eyesight had been a much-talked-about topic at the Preventers office and when the conventional laser correction method had failed, he'd agreed to undergo surgery to correct his vision. He knew that he was really pushing it; though field agents did not need to have 20 /20 vision he was not operating at 100, and both Sally and Lady Une had been pressuring him to take time off for it.

"I've got a dead body fished out from Central Lake …what was Central Lake once, and …" Wufei said hastily. The surgery called for his eyes to be covered 24 hours and another three days of rest, something he could not afford in the middle of an investigation. Plus, the thought of anesthesia and someone cutting into his eyes made him – uncomfortable.

"Let your partner handle it," Heero said. "You've postponed it six times already."

"But…" Wufei started to protest. His eyes fluttered close as Heero hand hovered over his face, far too close. Then he felt those calloused fingers brush over his eyelids and almost groaned at the sensation. It was something he'd started to notice, whenever Heero touched him, he seemed to lose control and …

"I've asked about the surgery and they say it's quite safe," Heero said, still touching Wufei eyes. He traced the outline of one eye gently, making Wufei's toes curl. "Sally is really good you know …I don't think she'd change the shape of your eyes."

"Yes," Wufei said weakly as his body seemed to melt.

"Good." The self satisfied tone made Wufei snap open his eyes as Heero rolled off the bed. "I've made an appointment for the day after tomorrow at the Medical center."

"You …" Wufei sat up hastily but by then Heero had already left the room into the bathroom. A split second later Sharine walked in demanding a spare pillow and sheet forcing Wufei to get up as well

----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----

Wufei snapped his eyes open, the last of the dream dissolving into wisps of nothing. His heart was pounding and his breathing was erratic; a fine film of sweat covered his upper torso. He sat up slowly or rather tried to sit up but was held down by the weight of Heero arm over his middle. He stiffened instantly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping companion.

"I'm awake," Heero said softly.

Wufei rolled over and lay facing Heero in the dark. There was a five inch gap between them as they lay and the light from the outside balcony was enough for Wufei to make out the dark hair and the faint outline of the face, eyes half closed, looking relaxed.

"Sorry," Wufei mumbled sleepily, feeling more relaxed. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I woke up when you started tossing," Heero said blandly. "Nightmare?"

"Something like that," said Wufei dismissively, shaking his head. He shivered a little as the sweat cooled on his bare chest. He was dressed in his white cotton trousers while Heero was wearing his shorts and t-shirt – thankfully, it was not just Wufei's fashion sense that had improved over time. Heero never wore his spandex shorts any more.

"Is it the surgery?" Heero asked softly. "I know you've been avoiding it for some time."

"Most certainly not," Wufei said indignantly. "I have been busy…"

"Chicken," Heero said in a low, teasing voice.

"What!" Wufei said loudly. "Yuy, did you just imply that I was some kind of coward?"

"Hn," said Heero and even in the semi-darkness Wufei could see that Heero was grinning from ear to ear. He leaned forward so his lips almost brushed Wufei's ear and hot breath tickled him. "Wimp." Heero had used Wufei's shampoo and it had an entirely different effect on Wufei than it did when he used it himself, or when he smelled it off Sharine.

"I…" Heero hadn't moved back, he was hovering just over Wufei and the expectation that Heero was going to lower his body on top of his was overwhelming. A feeling which had been dormant inside him was now adamant to break free. While part of his mind was searching for the proper response, the other part was just reacting the body next to him as if he was drugged on some aphrodisiac. Almost as if in a dream, Wufei rolled onto his back, as Heero drew back, but did not return to his side of the bed. "Yuy." His voice sound odd to his own ears, almost as if he was breathless. His heart was pounding hard in his rib cage and he felt slightly nauseated.

It was all too new to Wufei; he and Heero had shared a bed all too often; they had awaken in the night lying far too close to be comfortable and each and every time, they'd drawn apart. Come morning, such an incident might as well have been a dream. But now, Wufei was trying to understand why Heero did not simply obey their unwritten rules and drew back like he usually did.

Wufei's body was reacting to Heero's presence, the entire situation of bedroom, large bed, warm body reminding him that he had the sex life of a devoted monk. His nipples were hardening, and this time his cock was hardening with it. He was pinned to the bed by the shear _presence_ of Heero above him, not three inches away, as he struggled to say something rational. Something to diffuse the situation… perhaps a joke. What if Heero noticed he was semi-erect or that his face was as red as the carnation Lady Une wore on her lapel. What if…

Heero pushed himself up using his arms, and then carefully straddled Wufei, sitting on his heels, pinning Wufei to the mattress by placing a palm on either shoulder. Wufei looked up into Heero's face, so intent it was almost scary.

"Yuy." Wufei was sure had he been a woman, he would have called his voice a squeak.

"Heero," Heero said softly. "My name is Heero. Say it."

Technically, it wasn't as if Heero was holding him hostage. Wufei knew more about close combat hand to hand moves than a dozen people put together. His entire body was a weapon…he was not some damsel in distress pinned to the bed by a hulking male…but he was….Wufei's bones were made of hot wax which was melting under the heat. He could feel the fine hairs of Heero's thighs brush against his sides and as Heero carefully lowered his body weight onto Wufei's stomach…his arousal.

"Heero," Wufei gasped out, almost in protest. "What are you doing…?"

His protest was cut in half as Heero descended on him, claiming his lips in one smooth move. They were surprisingly gentle and non-demanding; the grip on his shoulders slipped away as Wufei's own body relaxed into the touch and in fact, the only part of him Heero was touching was his lips. He was giving Wufei a chance to reject the kiss, Wufei realized as Heero gently licked the outline of his lips. He chose not to take it.

"Oh," Wufei gasped, arching up a little as Heero used the opportunity to push his tongue into Wufei's mouth through parted lips. Wufei lifted his right arm and grabbed Heero's bicep …and pulled him closer. He wanted….wanted…to feel Heero's chest on his own…he wanted to feel…

Heero rolled off him so suddenly Wufei gasped. Feeling confused, he struggled to sit up only to be held down. Had Heero been dreaming and thought him to be someone else? Mortified by the thought, Wufei was about to push off the restraining arm when Heero leaned forward and mouthed "shh" to his ear.

Wufei lay back perfectly still as he heard the same thing Heero had heard…the familiar sound of bare feet on the wooden floor as Sharine walked up to their bedroom. The door swung open noiselessly and the female Preventer padded through to the bathroom.

"Your partner's got worse timing than you do," Heero hissed as his hand slid up and pinched one of Wufei's nipples, hard.

Wufei gasped loudly and arched upwards…"Heero." He tried to control his breathing as the hand slid over his chest with each breath, brushing against his nipple teasingly. It was more erotic than the entire kissing incident a few minutes ago.

As the hand started to creep down, Wufei held his breath, unwilling to submit to the torture. The toilet flushed and the door opened. Heero stiffened immediately and Wufei cursed as Sharine padded out of the room as silently as she had come.

"That sure killed the mood," Heero declared in a low voice as his hand stilled. He pulled Wufei close to him as if he was some rag doll and sighed. "Get some sleep…you have work tomorrow."

Wufei didn't know whether to thank his partner or to curse her. He was horny, he had an erection and Heero was going back to sleep.

To be continued in Part 2


	2. Chapter 2

** Title:** The Dance - part 2

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Gundam wing universe or any of the Gundam Wing characters. I'm doing this for fun.

**Pairing: ** Main 1x5 Mentions of 3x4 and 2xHilde

**Warnings: ** Yaoi, Romance, humor, spoilers to Endless Waltz

** Rating:** NC 17

**Archive: ** my lj under

Aidannwn

**Betaed : **by Stray ( greyhunter)

**Summary:** There's only so much you can do as friends. How do you know when to overstep that boundary?

**Request: ** Crystal ( kyoukenomiko ) asked me to write a 1x5 and since I had this plot inside my head, I thought I'd give it a shot. This may not be what you expected, but this is the best I can do. Hope you like it.

P.s. I'll hop back to Insecurities once this plot bunny is out of my head. It looks like I can't finish this in two chapters so one more chapter to go.

I don't think the boys are out of character. It's called growing up.

Wufei woke up with a start. He thought something was wrong with this situation but it took him a couple of minutes to remember what.. For a moment he wondered if getting up was worth it. The kiss from previous night seemed to have eaten deep into him; it should have felt like the worst moment of his life—but somehow didn't. Heero was already up, and Wufei was surprised that he had apparently slept through Heero clambering over him and off the bed. He swung his feet off the bed hurriedly as the bedroom door cracked open and Heero walked in casually, fully dressed, and handed Wufei a cup of coffee while sipping his own – something he always did when he stayed over.

"How long have you been up?" Wufei asked after a pause. He phrased a few more questions in his mind such as '_why did you kiss me last night?_' or rather '_why did you feel me up?_' or better yet '_are we going to do it again?_' then decided that he was going to take his cues from Heero. If Heero was going to pretend last night did not happen, then so was he. Or maybe, it was just something inconsequential in Heero's book; nothing worth mentioning. If he was entering it in a log, would the previous night appear as 'stayed over night at Chang Wufei's house' and the incident brushed away as if it never happened? He pulled his coffee out of Heero's grasp and made a hasty retreat into the bathroom before his mind decided to skydive without a parachute.

Refreshed, fully dressed in his spare uniform and armed, Wufei managed to walk out of his bedroom with dignity – and trepidation – and walked right into Sharine who looked as if she hadn't slept the entire night.

"Good morning," she said as she grabbed Wufei by the elbow and dragged him back into the bedroom. He got a fleeting impression of Heero looking up startled as the bedroom slammed shut behind them. "Now, can you kindly tell me what exactly is going on between you two?" she demanded, her free hand on her hips, looking ridiculous in his white shirt.

"What do you mean," Wufei asked, extracting his arm and stepping back. Her tone was accusing and Wufei tried hard not squirm. Did she suspect something about what had transpired the previous night? He remembered with slight irritation the time he'd had to put a plaster on his neck to cover a hickey given to him by an overly enthusiastic and slightly drunk female he had slept with once but Heero hadn't…didn't…he really couldn't remember…

"I was in your bedroom last night," Sharine said angrily and Wufei bit back the urge to say '_I know_' followed by '_when_' and then '_how many times_'. If he'd slept through Heero getting out of bed, he might have slept through Sharine doing a tap dance in the bedroom. "You two looked far too close to be friends," Shrine continued. "Are you sure you two are just friends He remembered that when Sharine had walked through the room, Heero had had his arm thrown over his middle, and _that_ would have been obvious even underneath the covers.

"What do you mean?" Wufei repeated, his heart pounding. He could feel his cheeks flush and hoped she would pass it off as annoyance and not embarrassment.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Sharine demanded, drawing closer. "You have a part of your closet reserved just for him; you have his toothbrush in the bathroom; you even sleep in the same bed and…and have you noticed just how close you stand when you talk?"

"What are you trying to imply?" Wufei asked, his face burning with shame. He knew exactly what she was saying, especially after last night - he just didn't want to admit it. It was too fresh after the not mentioned previous night's incident. "Heero Yuy stays with me when he comes over here. There's nothing to it."

"Are you sure?" Shrine asked looking him straight in the eye. "I'm not blind. I saw the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. More importantly, the way he looks at me, as if I'm some bug he wants to step on."

"That's Heero," Wufei said slightly relieved. Heero glaring at anyone was normal. "He's always like that and during the war…"

"Wufei," Heero called from the living room. "Call for you from headquarters."

It turned out to be Sally, who seemed oddly amused by the unusual trio that congregated in the sitting room. "We've got a lead on yesterday's body," she said. "Sharine…it's good that you're here. Saves me the time of making a double call." She left it without comment that Sharine was still dressed in a crumpled shirt that belonged to Wufei.

"Don't tell me you stayed up last night dissecting that body," Shrine drawled sarcastically. "You must have worked a double shift from the look of those bags under your eyes. Doesn't look like you got any sleep last night, at all." They both knew Sally was not the only doctor employed by the Preventers and she was more administratively inclined now. She never did autopsies to start with, but Sally did try to be present for at least one autopsy per week, just to keep her skills up to par, even if she never actually touched the body.

"I'm attending to that today," Sally said with a faint smile. "I thought I'll request your presence as an observer." At least one senior officer from the investigation had to be present at the autopsy to prevent accusations of foul play. It was not exactly the highlight of the investigation and there were never any volunteers for the job, so the invitation was hardly a flattering thing. While Sally approved of Sharine as a Preventer and as Wufei's partner, she had also been the first person to congratulate Wufei once their romance had cooled off.

"What about Wufei?" Sharine asked, pointing to her fully dressed partner.

"We've got a lead on the chains," Sally answered. "I think he'd be more productive leading that end of the investigation."

"He's not to go anywhere without a partner," Sharine said quickly. "You know that."

"I'll go with him," Heero interjected smoothly, turning to look at Sharine. "Just like old times." Wufei remained frozen since it was not strictly true but Heero was standing next to him and he did not feel like arguing. His shoulder brushed Wufei's and it reminded him of Sharine telling him that they tended to stand too close. Funny, he'd never noticed it.

"He's not a Preventer," Sharine told Sally, ignoring Heero.

"He is," said Wufei, feeling the conversation get out of hand.

"That's settled," Sally said with a smug smile. "Heero and Wufei can work together on this one. Why don't you get dressed in something more appropriate while I send over the reports? By the way, the autopsy's scheduled for nine…try to be there on time."

From the look on Sharine's face it was obvious she knew she was being pushed to the side. There was no way she was going to arrive at the morgue in time if she did not hurry. Cursing under her breath, the blonde grabbed Wufei's half full cup of coffee and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I suppose it's too late for me to tell you not to get too attached to her," Sally said wryly. It took Wufei a few seconds to realize that Sharine appearing in his shirt had just given his superior the wrong impression. Before he could correct her, Sally gave a shrug. "Anyway, it's none of my business whom you pick…just don't elope. I'll arrange for leave if you want to get married."

At that Wufei cracked a smile remembering Sally's junior secretary who had eloped with her lover when she had not been approved leave. "I'll at least send you a postcard from Hawaii," he said before he remembered that Heero, who was standing next to him, holding a mug of coffee, was not in on the joke. Knowing that an explanation would have to wait, he changed the subject. "What's the lead and who's got it?"

"You've got some enthusiastic rookies in your team," Sally said with a grimace. They both knew what that meant. "I can't remember his name, the brunette with the sideburns and the fringe, he was very enthusiastic. From what I hear, he was in the office most of last night going over the evidence…" while _he_ had been cuddling with Heero, Wufei thought, wincing with guilt. It was his investigation; he should have been the one burning night oil, not some nameless junior out to impress his superiors.

"You said it was the chains," Wufei prompted.

"They were ID-ed pretty quickly," Sally said with a grimace. "Dog chains."

"There were those dead dogs that were unearthed from the bog," Wufei recalled. "And for such a large quantity of chains to be in one place, assuming no one keeps those at home…"

"Exactly," Sally said. "It's mostly leg work. There was only one place close by which sold that brand of chains and it was a pet store owned by a woman called Maria Fernandez. She moved out a couple of months ago when the Project Drain Lake got approved. She's opened a new store in the Mid-town district and I'm sending everything we've got on her."

"We'll take it from here," said Heero and abruptly disconnected the call. Sally was still trying to fit in some comment as the screen was switched off. They were all familiar with Heero's terse manner so it was unlikely that Sally was insulted.

However, Wufei was more than surprised when Heero spun around and walked hurriedly to the kitchen. He waited until his laptop confirmed that it had received all the information before following Heero. "We'll take my bike," he said walking in. "Sharine can take the bus."

"You can go with her to check out this pet store person if you want to," Heero said with his back to Wufei. He deposited the mug inside the sink and turned around. "I'll take the morgue."

"That's extremely generous of you," Wufei said puzzled, looking for a catch. He was also slightly disappointed that Heero did not want to be with– a part of the investigation. Was this the result of the night before? Was Heero now going to avoid him? "But I thought you hate morgues," he said then added, "I'd feel more confident knowing you're watching my back."

"Won't that affect your …relationship with your partner?" Heero asked, searching Wufei's face closely.

"She'll get over it," Wufei said with a shrug as he moved to the sink to rinse the mug. He picked it up surprised to see the white porcelain surface was riddled with cracks. "When did this happen?" he asked bringing it up closer inspection.

"Just happened," Heero said with a shrug, studying Wufei's laptop intently. "Must be one of those cheap Chinese things."

Wufei looked back at him sharply but Heero did not seem to be joking. In fact, there was a hard edge to his voice. "Thought I'd never see the day when Chang Wufei would be ruled by a woman."

"Yuy," said Wufei, narrowing his eyes. "Are you implying something?"

"She runs your household, wears your clothes. Does she also fuck you up the ass?"

Wufei gaped at him with wide eyes but apparently the outburst was over. Heero pushed himself away from the laptop and shut it with a bang. Wufei was convinced the display was going to be cracked. "I'm overstepping my welcome here." Then before Wufei could open his mouth. "Let's go."

"Not before I know where we're going," Wufei said, picking up his laptop and going through the details. He purposefully avoided looking at Heero since the conversation was starting to become awkward. "This is a little far away," he said looking at the address.

"Two hours by bike," Heero said, picking up the cracked mug and throwing it in the garbage. "Which reminds me, Duo sent you some parts you wanted for the bike. They're in my bag."

"The new fuel injectors," Wufei asked, looking up, excited by the prospect. Duo's gifts to him had always been something bike-related. Which was also one of the reasons he was reluctant to send in his bike for an overhaul. If someone from the Preventer maintenance were to open it, they'd find out that the engine was different from what it originally had been. It was faster, handled like a dream and was his pride and joy. "Why didn't you give it to me last night…?"

"You'd have stayed up all night making love to your bike," Heero said with a shrug. "You can play with it when we get back."

"I suppose," Wufei said grudgingly, looking at the bedroom door which was still firmly shut. "I'll just leave a note to Sharine."

"She knows where you're going," Heero said abruptly as he picked up Wufei's jacket and threw it at him. It fluttered through the air and landed on his head, blocking his view of the laptop. "We're wasting time here."

-------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-----------------

Heero's hands were warm against Wufei's middle. The fingers flickered briefly against his shirt, and then pressed down lightly, making Wufei hold his breath. Those fingers found his abs fascinating, tracing his muscles one by one, working down his torso until one of the fingers dipped into his navel. Wufei's entire body jerked with shock as the rest of his body started to react to the touches. He was feeling far too hot; the jacket was too heavy and the shirt underneath too stifling.

Those fingers started to creep lower. "Yuy," Wufei managed to gasp. "What are you doing?"

There was no answer but the warm palm brushed over this belt, over the zipper and settled almost above his crotch. Wufei's toes were curling in his boots as the hand began to trace the same path backwards. He let out the breath he had been holding and was about to take another when the fingers stopped their accent to dip into his waist band.

The bike almost rear ended a converted Volkswagen before Wufei could regain control of it. He swung left onto the pavement, almost ran over a pedestrian before coming to a halt near a small alleyway. He turned around, furious, his face burning.

"You nearly got us killed," he shouted ignoring the startled passer-bys. "What exactly are you playing at?" Even as he said that, Wufei knew it was a ridiculous question. Heero always held him by the waist when they rode his bike and those hands had always held onto him. Why was he overreacting, just because he _thought_ those fingers had dipped? Had they dipped? Or had he imagined it since he'd always wanted them to? He was going mad, Wufei decided. He was…he let the bike run down the alleyway in neutral before coming to a halt, pulling down the sidewalk as he did. He jumped off the bike and took two steps on shaky legs before turning around to look at Heero, only to look away hurriedly before their eyes could meet.

He couldn't do it, he really couldn't do it. What if he turned around and saw Heero with a blank face, standing by his bike, wondering what the fuck he was talking about? Heero had always held onto him when they rode his bike, he repeated the thought once again, like a mantra. Heero had always latched onto his waist and he'd always arrived at their destination safely without a word of protest over the physical contact on the way. But this was different.

From the moment Heero had swung his leg over the side, sat on the leather seat and slid forward so he could hold on to Wufei, he had known it was different. Heero was far too warm, his body far too close. He could feel the heat of his body as if he was sitting in front of a furnace. When Heero leaned over his shoulder to watch the road, his breath tickled his neck and Wufei almost jerked away at the sensation. And those warm palms on his waist made it hard for him to concentrate. On top of it, when those hands had started to wander his body had…

Wufei almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Served him right for turning his back on Heero. He spun around, steeling himself to a blank look from Heero, only to see and equally flushed face inches away from his.

"I'm sorry," Heero said in a low voice. "I overstepped my boundaries."

"I didn't know we had boundaries to overstep," Wufei said, sounding a little hysterical. They were twenty minutes away from their destination, in an alleyway, discussing boundaries.

"Wufei," said Heero looking at him. "I…you…" Heero was flustered, which in turn made Wufei flustered. He licked his lips in anticipation of some kind of abrupt brush off or…

"Oh well…"

Heero pushed him backwards so he tripped over his own feet and hit the wall behind him. Something -- mould layered dirt maybe -- came loose and fell onto the ground. It was terribly unhygienic and disgusting. Really. Wufei opened his mouth to protest and the next moment his lips were covered by Heero's.

Unlike the kiss in the bedroom this was forceful and hard. There was no way Wufei was going to forget the sex of the person kissing him. It was not the sort of soft-lipped kiss a female would give; it was cruder, more possessive and bolder. There was strength in those lips as they forced Wufei's mouth open and dived in, exploring in depth despite his muffled protests.

Wufei protested for as long as he could breathe but when Heero breathed through him he stopped fighting. It was impossible fight because his body had become like a crackling mass of melted wires and short-circuited machinery. Heero's chest was pressed against his, he'd wedged one of his thighs between Wufei's lifting him off the ground so their mouths were now level, and pressed their groins together.

But just when he was getting used to the aggressive assault, Heero tore his mouth off Wufei's, despite his strangled protest. He began to slowly kiss down the side of his jaw, then suck on a sensitive spot of his neck, which made Wufei's head snap back so hard it hit the wall with a muted thump. More dirt came loose but Wufei was far too preoccupied to care and Heero seemed to be on a mission to find the longest path from his neck to his…his _navel._ When had his shirt gotten undone? Or better yet…why wasn't he protesting? Wufei finally managed to open his mouth and utter a few words…and almost squealed like a teenage girl when Heero unsnapped his belt in one smooth move.

"Uh." Wufei wasn't feeling very communicative.

"Hn." Heero agreed with him as the zip came undone. There was an amused snicker as Heero spotted his white boxers – adorned with little flying angels (a present from Duo) and then continued to suck at the hollow where Wufei's hip met his leg

Wufei let his head fall backwards, stuffing a fist into his mouth to muffle a groan. Heero pulled free from him gently but firmly, making him gasp for air and contact. Had he done something wrong…? Or more realistically, what hadn't he done? He almost managed to pull free from the wall when Heero abruptly pulled down his trousers. Wufei tried hard not to gasp as Heero casually reached into his boxers and pulled out his erection through the slit. He was sure there was a step missing somewhere between the kissing and the beginnings of what appeared to be a blow job. Well, he thought it was a blow job unless Heero needed to inspect his cock at close quarters in a dirty alleyway while he stood, half supported by a grime covered wall… Wufei's train of thought ground to an abrupt halt when those same lips that had been attacking his neck, closed over the head of his cock.

Wufei's knees nearly gave way and he had to scrabble over his head to find an old pipe jutting from the wall to hold onto. He was going to melt, he thought, as Heero's tongue found his slit and probed it gently. Wufei actually squirmed against the wall as the hot tongue traced a line from the root to the tip before a warm wet mouth engulfed the head and gave a firm suck. Then Heero seemed to really give it some serious consideration; he took a firm hold of the base of Wufei's cock and moved his tongue in a way that shouldn't have been humanly possible.

Wufei lasted exactly fifteen seconds afterwards. So it seemed, since the next moment he was coming in spurts. It was embarrassing and totally unexpected. It seemed Heero hadn't exactly expected it either. He quickly drew back, coughing and spluttering.

"Oh…," Wufei mumbled mortified. "I…I'm sorry, Heero."

"It's been a while, has it?" Heero smirked from his position, kneeling at Wufei's feet as if it was the most natural thing in the world, wiping spunk off his face with a casual flick of his wrist. It seemed that he was pleased by that conclusion.

"I'm…I'm…" Wufei stammered as he searched for the correct thing to say. His face was red from embarrassment and the force of his orgasm and his ears were on fire. He didn't know what to say or do when Heero gently tucked him back into his pants and zipped him up. He even did his belt and stood up then leaned forward and kissed him, again. Wufei could taste himself on Heero's lips and it wasn't much of a turn on. The taste wasn't to his liking but he did not complain since Heero had just swallowed that stuff on his account so who was he to complain? But as the kiss heated up, he felt a stir of renewed excitement.

"Oh, look," exclaimed a young but vicious sounding voice. "Fags…"

Heero pulled a gun from his waistband, which Wufei knew he carried but didn't know if he had a license to or not, and shot a neat little hole in the ground in front of the punk without even breaking the kiss. Wufei actually tied to break free – he could not have Heero Yuy go around shooting at civilians just because they bothered him -- but he was distracted by Heero taking his hand and pressing it down on his groin.

"How about something in return for the service rendered?" Heero whispered into his ear as Wufei's fingers automatically closed over the bulge he knew to be Heero erection.

He should be freaking out. Never before in his life had he had sex with a man, or had a blow job from a man, or had been asked to reciprocate said blow job. But here he was, calmly sliding his hand into Heero's trousers in preparation of a hand job. And he couldn't have been further from freaking out.

He extracted Heero's penis – it was large- and a part of him wondered if he should just put it back, jump on his bike and get on with their case before anyone else came but then…he really touched it. As hand jobs went, it was crude and hard. They both knew they didn't have time for foreplay in a dirty alleyway as they leaned towards each other, lips meeting briefly only to pull away a second later. Heero bit Wufei's shoulder as the sword callused grip brought him close to his orgasm, moving up and down the shaft firmly, if a little shyly.

"Faster," Heero panted. He managed to thrust a tissue into Wufei's hand and added. "You know what to do." Did Heero sound breathless, Wufei wondered then felt pleased by the thought he could make Heero breathless.

"Trust me," Wufei said a little wryly despite the situation. "I've got plenty of practice in this department."

Heero came noiselessly, shuddering against Wufei's shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut. Wufei was glad for the tissue since he did not think he was in a mood to lick Heero's cum off his palm.

That brought him up cold.

Oh, shit, what had they done?

Wufei was sure he was going to either wake up from one odd wet dream or…or Heero was going to morph into someone else. He was crazy, he was…he was….He closed his eyes.

Then he opened them when Heero gently kissed him on the forehead. "Wufei," Heero voice was gentle but questioning.

"Uh," he managed, too shaken to open his eyes.

"I think you'd better answer your com because Sharine has been hailing you for the last five minutes."

1111!111

The apartment building looked about as welcome as the bog from the day before and Wufei grimaced as he went over the file Sharine had uploaded for him. So far, all the information they'd received, even the new data from the autopsy, did not change the overview of the case much.

"Wufei," Heero said from behind him, making him falter a little. "What are you…?"

"Apartment four is on the third floor," Wufei said pointing at the blueprints he'd called up on the Preventer interface. "And that would be…here," He tapped the little square on the screen. He looked as the chosen square enlarged to fill the entire screen and the faint outline of a person inside with a red center took shape.[1

"Body heat sensors," Heero observed. "That's new."

"That way we can know exactly how many people there are in the apartment before we go storming in," Wufei stated, trying to ignore the fact that one of Heero's hands came to rest on his shoulder as he looked at the screen over Wufei's head. Heero didn't have to lean in that close – contrary to Wufei, he had more than perfect eye sight.

"Wufei," Heero said as he stepped back when Wufei straightened. "We need to talk."

Wufei looked behind him briefly, his eyes meeting fleetingly with Heero's, before he looked away. He was still reeling from the earlier incident but didn't know how to react. Not half an hour ago those lips had been wrapped around his cock but the only indication that such a thing had happened was the dirt on the knees of Heero's trousers. For better or for worse, they had crossed the line of no return. There was no way they could go back to being casual friends or anything remotely similar. The incident the night before could have been passed off as...as…something but not a blow job in a deserted alleyway.

"We'll talk later," Wufei said brusquely, keeping his face blank. He knew they needed to talk when they got back to their…his apartment. They had crossed the unspoken boundary – Wufei paused with a start, was it the same boundary Heero had mentioned before he and Wufei had… "We need to complete this case before we start anything else. I don't need complications now, Yuy." Wufei looked at his palm top to stop himself from blurting out any more stupid or inconsequential sentences.

"You are being awfully calm about this," Heero said softly, just behind him. Wufei fought the urge to drop his palm top and jump in the air.

"Would you rather I start hyperventilating and gibbering?" Wufei said, sounding overly sarcastic, even to his own ears. "I've worked hard as a Preventer to be where I am. I have no intention of jeopardizing my present case just because of some hormonal slip between us." Didn't Heero get it, Wufei raged internally? He was not good at compartmentalizing feelings like Heero was. Throughout the war, he was driven by his feelings. Now was not the time to let his emotions control his actions, just when he was about to question an old woman about the murder of her oldest son.

"Is that what it is?" Heero asked, his voice low but with a dangerous undertone.

"I don't know what it is," Wufei snarled turning around. "Yuy, I'm trying to do my job now. Can you please stop distracting me?"

"So I'm a bother while your job is more important," Heero said in the same low tone, his face blank.

"I'd much rather depend on my job which I've had steadily for the past six years, than on you who's always treating me as some brief stop over," Wufei almost shouted. The moment he'd said it, he felt as if someone had yanked a rug from under his feet. Had he actually said it, was it the way he felt? Did he resent Heero for coming into his life, disrupting it and moving out just when he was getting used to the other's presence. What was wrong with him? He sounded like an insecure teenager making demands to her boyfriend, or worse, a housewife yearning for her wandering husband to return.

To stop Heero from latching onto that last sentence, Wufei closed this palm top and said, "I should have brought Sharine with me after all. At least she can remain professional while on the job."

Heero closed his hands into fists and stepped back carefully as if he was walking on eggshells. "Let's get this investigation over with," he said and then signaled for Wufei to precede him into the building.

"When we talk it'll be on my terms," Wufei said firmly proceeding into the old apartment building. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness of the ground floor before looking around at the peeling paint and 'out of order' sign above the lift. "We'll take the stairs." Unless Heero was going to spout wings and fly them both. "I don't think she's expecting us but she must know that Central Lake is being drained so she's maybe prepared."

"Weapons ready," Heero said blankly.

Wufei fingered his belt and confirmed that he did have his gun. He could have dropped it while getting a _gulp_ blow job and not have noticed it. Then he shook his head at his own stupidity. He had been a warrior far too long to start letting things distract him from his mission now. He stopped to consult his map, checking that there was no other entrance, then turned towards the steps.

"You've changed," Heero said as Wufei started up. "You're not as uptight as you used to be."

"It's called growing up," Wufei said shortly, trying not to think too hard about what was being said. If he started thinking about it now, then he would become distracted, which in turn would result in him making an error.

"Just that…" Heero gave a short laugh. "Before, you used to act as if you had a stick up your ass."

"And you went around threatening to kill anyone who looked at you sideways," Wufei said before his mind could react.

"But I suppose it's a good thing if you've lost that stick," Heero said, ignoring Wufei's comment. "Because I am planning to replace it with my dick."

Wufei missed a step and it was only his quick reflexes that prevented him from landing on his chin.

"I killed him," Maria Fernandez said firmly. She was seventy five years old, small built, her dark hair streaked with gray was tied back in a bun. She was dressed in a faded cotton blouse and a long colorful skirt.

"And then you wrapped the body in the chains from your pet store, hauled it to the lake and dumped it there," Wufei said in a blank voice.

"Yes." Her chin rose as she spoke.

"Where did you kill your son?" Heero asked in the resulting silence. Sharine's update on the murder with what had been gleaned from the autopsy had been very informative.

"In my apartment," Maria said. There was a slight hesitation but she did not back down.

"You lived a block away from the Lake on the fourth floor," Wufei pointed out. "How did you move the body?"

"I just did," she said defiantly.

"Your son was six feet tall and with the chains, he must have weighed at least 100 kilos/220 pounds," Wufei said patiently. "Even if you'd moved him and the chains separately, there was no way you could have moved the body unless you'd cut it into small pieces. Also, he was dumped somewhere in the middle of the Lake so you must have put him in a boat and rowed to the middle. All of which suggests a very strong person…or more than one person."

"I was very strong when I was younger," she declared.

"That was four months ago," Heero said dryly. The Lake bottom was extremely cold and mud there had acted to slow down the decay so it had been hard to tell the exact time of death. They'd had a rough estimate and Maria had just confirmed the rest for them.

"I was four months younger," Maria said firmly.

"Just whom are you covering for?" Heero asked wryly. "You can either answer the questions here or you can come with us to the station."

"I've always wanted to ride a bike," she said, looking pleased.

"Just…" Wufei gave up. "Look, Mrs. Fernandez, we know about your son."

"That he was a drunk and a regular bastard who'd beat up his mother and his wife," Maria said in disgust. "She finally left him, you know, and there was nothing I could do about it. One day, he came home drunk, slipped on the carpet, fell backwards and hit his head. By the time I rolled him over, he was dead."

"You forgot to mention the part where he shot himself as he fell backward," Wufei said with wry grin.

"I only saw that after he fell," Maria countered. "So…arrest me now and get it over with."

"Who are you protecting?" Wufei asked in frustration. "We can give you protection if you are being threatened."

"At my age, do you really think I'm going to be scared by bodily harm?" the old woman scoffed.

"Thank you, that was informative," Heero said standing up. "We'll leave you for now."

They both stood up smoothly, but Wufei stopped before reaching the door. "If you change your mind," Wufei said giving her a small plastic card. "Or remember something you want to tell us, please give us a call."

They both walked out slowly, side by side, shoulders brushing. "So, it was someone she cared about," Heero said once they were out of the building.

"As even if she was not an active partner, she was present when her son was killed," Wufei concluded. "The way she described it matched what Sharine said."

"Anything else?" Heero asked, looking around alertly as they walked towards the bike.

"You mean that she knew I came on a bike," Wufei said with a grimace. "I noticed…but it could mean either she had someone to watch out or she spends her time looking out her window, which in case you noticed, faces the parking lot."

"And two people in Preventer uniforms are hard to miss," Heero concluded and Wufei did not mention that only he was in full uniform. "Where to next?"

"We wait," Wufei said with a shrug, mounting his bike and kicking the side stand back. "The card I gave her contains a small listening device and a chip, which will leech off the signal from her com unit. The moment she makes a call, we'll know where and to whom and will be able to listen in on what she says."

Heero nodded as he settled on the seat behind Wufei and slid an arm around his middle, almost absentmindedly. "What's the signal range?"

"Not much," Wufei admitted reluctantly. "We're still working on it. The tech people say anything else will need a larger power source and if we start handing out calling cards as thick as bibles people will get suspicious."

"But technically speaking," Heero asked as Wufei turned the starter. "Isn't it illegal?"

"You are mistaking us with the police," Wufei said with a huff. He roared out of the parking lot, making sure that the old lady heard them leave. "And I'm not squeamish about using any means necessary to get the job done. You should know that much about me by now."

!!!!!!!!!!-----------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The com-link call they had listened to had been between Maria Fernandez and her second son had not revealed anything more than that they had paid her a visit regarding a body fished out from former Central Lake. However, a background scan of the second son, Alexander, revealed that he had been the one assisting Maria in her pet shop back when it was in the old neighborhood and that he had also been her favorite son. What was more disturbing was that he had been arrested twice, once for possessing an illegal firearm and the second time for beating up a kid who had been pushing drugs in the area he had lived in. The kid had suffered a fractured skull, two broken ribs and a whole cartload of bruises. Wufei had labeled him as the main suspect, someone who was not too shy to carry out a little justice in a heavy handed way.

"Which means nothing without concrete proof and you know that," Sharine said as she looked at the data pooled between the three of them. "I don't see why you two didn't go and question him about it instead of heading back here."

"Questioning him would have given him a hint that we were onto him," Heero said blandly.

"Yes, but…" Sharine said with a scowl. "And now you're going to bail out on me."

"From what I have been told, you are an extremely competent Preventer," Heero said challengingly as if wanting Sharine to contest the statement. "Even you should be able to handle an investigation of this caliber-" a clear statement that he didn't think it was much of a case "-since Wufei will be taking some time off for his eye surgery."

"Which, if I recall correctly is mid-day tomorrow," Shrine said pointedly. "It does not explain why he should clock out at two o'clock today."

"Because he is sick of the two of you behaving as if he isn't here," Wufei ground out, standing up. "I'm going to go over the case file to see if there's anything I missed and to see if there are any other missing people reported in the area for the past four months."

"We've already ID-ed the body so I don't see how that's going to help," Sharine said blandly.

"You're going home now," Heero said with a scowl, blocking Wufei's path by simply standing there.

Wufei knew his rank allowed him to go home whenever necessary, especially since his case had just been transferred to his partner while he had been out questioning the suspect.. Still, he was reluctant to leave with everything half done. He could call up more background checks on Alexander Fernandez and see if there are any other things he'd missed out. He could actually stake out Maria Fernandez's flat to see if there were any other interesting conversations being carried out. True, they had left a recorder to capture any com-link call she might be carrying out but he knew it could not be used in any court of law as evidence since it was obtained illegally.

But visual evidence from the outside of the flat, collected by…

"I've got a few more things to wrap up before…" Wufei started to protest then stopped when he saw the look on Heero's face. It brooked no argument; it was the face just before he had pushed his self-detonator and no one ever got around to persuading Heero otherwise when he was like that. "Fine," he said weakly, feeling his resolution waver.

"We need to discuss a few things before this gets out of hand," Heero said, looking at Sharine who had also seen the look and had stood up, her hand going to her gun in an automatic response.

"Like making his last will and testament," she said suspiciously. "I left my uniform in Wufei's apartment so I think I'll tag along with you and pick it up."

"We'll mail it to you," Heero said bluntly. "I need to speak to Wufei alone, so stay away."

"Is that alright with you?" Sharine asked Wufei who was starting to feel like he was caught in a crossfire between two strong willed people.

"It's fine," he said firmly. "There are a few things Heero and I need to clear up." He looked into Heero eyes and nodded. "You ready to leave?"

"You have to type up reports for today's …whatever it was you did," Sharine said, though she did not sound convincing.

Heero did not even bother to reply as he walked past her and Wufei followed with a shrug. He was not sure whether he should be going back to the apartment, he wasn't even sure if he should have this conversation with Heero now, but he knew he had to get it over with. It was one thing to receive a blow job from a total stranger and then walk away but when it was from his best friend he had known for almost nine years it was harder to pretend it never happened.

Not that he wanted to. Really. Did that count as a weakness?

[1 All technical discrepancies are passed off as technical advances of the future.

a/n- I really was going to finish this with the second chapter but apparently things seem to keep getting worse.


	3. Chapter 3

1x5 part 3

It was raining by the time they had made it back to Wufei's apartment. Not strong but persistent; a steady drizzle which Wufei was sure was going to continue late into the night. He parked his bike in the usual spot, locked it and double-checked the area just in case he missed something. (With his luck, that something would probably be a knife-wielding maniac.) Though it was only late afternoon, the rain clouds made it feel as if it was late evening and Wufei noted with irritation that the fading light cut down his distant vision to almost nil. Perhaps it was a good thing that he was getting his eye surgery the following day.

"You know the thing we agreed to talk about?" Heero said softly from behind him.

"Yes," said Wufei shortly wondering what was going to come next.

"We'll also discuss this when we reach your apartment," said Heero, tossing his coat over Wufei's head, protecting him from the rain.

"Yuy," Wufei almost shouted, jumping in reaction to having something large fall on his head. "You moron, you can't treat me like some weakling who's going to dissolve at the fall of…"

"You talk too much," Heero replied sounding bored. "You're starting to sound like Relena."

Wufei shut his mouth with an audible snap, his sentence halted in mid-vowel. He glared at Heero to let him know he considered it a rather low blow but Heero ignored him as he steered Wufei towards the elevator. Perhaps it was not very effective when he had a long sleeve covering half his face.

Once they were both inside, Wufei closed the door, locked it and turned around. "You said we were going to talk."

"Not standing by the door," Heero said mildly. "Why don't you change into something comfortable?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Yuy," Wufei ground out. "As if I'm a five year old who needs to be told what to do." He was slightly weary of new developments, especially in his home front, which had always been pretty normal, if a little boring. Now things were changing and it made him feel off-kilter and he was retaliating the only way he could, by snapping back.

"Well, _Chang_," Heero said a little sharply. "I'll stop doing that if you stop behaving like a five year old."

Wufei felt as if he had been slapped. Heero has never ever called him Chang. It felt so impersonal and cold, as if Heero was distancing himself from everything. Wordlessly, Wufei walked into his bedroom, stripped and headed for the shower. He showered in cold water, letting the freezing stream erase the shock of hearing Heero chastise him. It was not the first time someone had spoken to him in that way but it was the first time Heero had and it had come as a surprise. Unconsciously, he had relaxed with Heero, taking certain liberties when speaking to him. After all, he had reasoned, if Heero could overlook the fact he'd shot down Wing into the ocean, Heero could put up with his temperamental nature. Had he pushed too far…?

Cold showers were hardly worth lingering in and Wufei exited as soon as the last of the soap suds had been washed off. He tied a towel around his waist and worked on drying his hair first as he walked into the bedroom. Heero was seated on his bed, folding his discarded uniform, looking slightly pensive.

"Uh…Heero," Wufei said, thinking that perhaps it was time he stopped calling Heero 'Yuy'. "The shower's free."

"Thanks," said Heero, standing up. Not wanting to see the other man strip, Wufei brushed past him towards the closet to pick up something to wear. As they passed each other, Heero unhooked Wufei's towel from around his waist, stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Wufei stopped; it had happened so fast. True, the only guest towel he had had been used by Sharine in the morning and asking Heero to use it before it had been to the laundry was plain disgusting. However, Heero using his towel had the sort of intimacy reserved for family members, and not in all families. It was hard for him to imagine his authoritarian father and timid mother having shared towels. He remembered an amusing tit-bit from his childhood when someone had said the Japanese shared toothbrushes; no matter how large the family, there was only one toothbrush for all of them. He wrinkled his face in disgust – that was a level of familiarity he was willing to forego but then again, such a rumor could have been the result of the natural prejudice most Chinese had against their closest (Earth) neighbors.

He heard the shower being turned on and came to himself. He was standing in the middle of the room, naked apart from a towel with which he was drying his hair. Had he been by himself it would not have been much of a problem but he knew Heero took short showers. He did not want to stand there like that when Heero came out; the guy would think Wufei had finally flipped or else was waiting for him

Wufei was in the kitchen dressed in a pair of loose trousers and a t-shirt when Heero walked in, his hair wet from the shower, dressed in cut-offs, his shirt unbuttoned.

"So," said Wufei as he handed a cup of coffee to Heero. "Why did you wear black spandex during the war?" It was the lamest opening conversation he could ever think of but as he was really reaching for it.

"Black hides everything from blood to dirt," Heero replied as he sat down on a straight-backed kitchen chair. If he thought Wufei's conversation topic odd, he did not mention it. "It was easier than getting up in the morning and wondering what to wear, and the only way I knew I had to change it was by sniffing it." The last part of the sentence was said with a faint smile on Heero's lips and Wufei could not help but snort in amusement. Heero with a sense of humor was a new development and he was starting to enjoy it. "What you dressed in was so impractical," Heero added, pulling out a chair next to him and Wufei sat down slowly.

"I was clinging to the last remains of my home," Wufei said softly. "Pretty stupid but if you didn't have anything worth fighting for, there was no use in fighting at all."

"Do you still believe that?" Heero asked, his eyes on his mug.

"It's better to believe that than nothing at all," Wufei shrugged. "I'm not getting philosophical or anything but after having seen the things people do to each other, I think wars are better. There are clearer definitions of enemies. Now I deal with mothers who burn their kids with hot water and fathers who rape their daughters…"

"Do you think you can make a difference?" Heero asked looking at Wufei who decided to evade the gaze by studying his coffee.

"Not really," Wufei said putting his coffee down. "But I don't know any better."

"Come with me," Heero offered suddenly. "I…do stuff…for people. It's almost the same as what you do but on a wider scale. It's not local like what you do…" He seemed to be searching for words to describe what he was doing without giving away any secrets. As important as it was to hear what Heero did, Wufei had stopped listening the moment Heero had invited him along.

"Go with you Yuy," he said, forgetting his resolution to call Heero by his first name. "Correct me if I'm wrong but you were never much of a team player…"

"As if you were," Heero interrupted.

"Quit trying to throw me off," Wufei growled. "What I'm trying to say is, you with me is going to be two people…"

"I've noticed."

"Will you stop being childish," Wufei snapped. "More problems, more things to hide – I don't see you taking anyone else on your missions."

"You aren't anyone," Heero pointed out. "And you did say you didn't like it when I leave you behind."

Wufei stood up, pushing his chair back, his coffee mug titling dangerously before he could get hold of it. "What!" he said in a low voice, his eyes narrowing in anger. "I didn't know you did pity, Yuy. This is so unlike you."

"If it was pity, then I'd have invited Relena," Heero said, unruffled.

"Then please do," Wufei said, sitting down heavily. He grabbed his mug and took a sip of coffee to show he was unaffected but inside he was on fire.

What exactly did Heero mean by his last comment, that he still had feelings for Relena? It was a sort of understanding among the rest of the Gundam pilots that where Heero went Relena followed and if Relena was in trouble, Heero would come dashing to the rescue. Wufei did not know who died and made Heero the guardian spirit for Relena but every time the stupid woman as much as broke a toe nail, Heero would be there with a nail file and a plaster. Perhaps, Heero really did like Relena and maybe Wufei was feeling as if he'd been kicked in the balls because Heero had given him a blow job in the morning.

"I pity Relena because she is a spoilt rich girl who is trapped in a cage," Heero said softly. "She will be a figure head to the people until the day she dies, always in the limelight, forever scrutinized…that does not mean I want her with me."

He paused, as if waiting for Wufei to inject a comment but Wufei could not speak since the feeling of relief flooding him made it impossible for him to open his mouth. That meant, whatever feelings Heero had for Relena it was not based on love or…why was he thinking in terms of love? What was wrong with him? Damn Heero for making him feel as steady as a row boat caught in a summer storm at sea.

"I've been thinking about inviting you for a long, long time you know," Heero offered slowly when Wufei made no move to pick up the conversation." Wufei remained silent trying to process what was being said. "Some of the things I do," Heero paused, sipped his coffee and seemed to search for a proper description. "…would be easier if I had someone with me. Someone to watch my back and to take charge when necessary. You are the perfect choice; Trowa is too attached to Quatre and vise versa." Heero shrugged. "And Quatre had become a little lax since he is doing more administrative work."

"Which leaves Duo," Wufei pointed out.

"Who hasn't changed much," Heero said. "It's hard to remain low key with someone who is as unpredictable as he is. And he is trying to build a life which has no place for guns and explosives in it, besides he has kids now and that makes him…" The next sip of coffee was most probably to cover the remainder of the sentence which was left unsaid.

Wufei did not reply, looking down. Of the five of them, only he and Heero had chosen the path of violence. And he knew he could keep up with Heero during a mission, match him strength for sped. And it was a tempting offer; he was getting slightly fed up having to deal with decomposing bodies and drunk ministers. He knew he was not using his full potential and the prospect of a new challenge excited him. But, Wufei was used to his life on Earth. He had a home, he had friends and he had a life. He was not sure he could live a nomadic life again, becoming a shadow, becoming what he was during the war. There was also one small detail that was bothering him.

"If you thought I was capable of becoming your partner, why didn't you invite me before?" Wufei said thoughtfully.

"For the same reason I throw my coat over your head when I think you'd get wet," Heero replied smoothly. "For the same reason I keep tabs on your assignments even when I'm off planet. Not because I think you're weak or stupid, but because I care for you." Wufei froze, mug forgotten, staring at Heero as his world shattered into a million pieces. Heero continued to talk, blind to the shock waves passing over Wufei's center. "If I took you along with me and you got hurt, I'd never forgive myself."

Wufei tried to form a proper sentence but failed. If was as if he was drowning; Heero cared for him and from recent evidence he did not think it was brotherly love – unless it was the warped verity and…He was babbling mentally. Heero cared for him.

"Yuy," he finally managed. "Heero…uh…"

"You know, I never thought we'd have this conversation this way," Heero said. "I always thought I'd tell you one day – or never, depending on the circumstances."

"Meaning what?" Wufei finally squeezed out.

"Whenever I come over to your place, I promise myself I'd tell you but in the end, I never do," Heero said truthfully. "I postpone it to the next visit and then the next. Trust me, facing a firing squad is easier than telling you how -how -I feel for you."

"I don't even know how you feel about me," Heero continued, his hand tightening against the mug. Seeing the small crack lines appear in the handle, Wufei finally got an inkling as to what might have happened to his other mug in the morning. "Do you even like guys, Wufei?"

Wufei paused thinking it to over. True, he had freaked out when Heero had given him a blow job but he had not freaked out in an 'I'm straight and you assaulted me' sort of way. And this was Heero, not some guy. He could not work up the disgust or the shock he wanted to feel – he had shared a bed with Heero, he'd kissed him and he hadn't been repulsed. In fact, Wufei thought, he was taking to the idea pretty well, better than expected.

"Who am I kidding," Wufei said pushing his half empty mug away and turning to face Heero. He was not going to hide behind some mug when he'd reached the crucial part of the conversation. "Yuy…" he thought of his earlier resolution. "Heero – I really don't know how to put this into words. I'm not sure about this myself – about us – but if you had told me you'd met someone and were moving out, I'd have been very hurt. I don't know if that constitutes as me having feelings for you, but I'm glad you chose me. Honored."

"Well then…"

"Just one fucking question," Wufei continued forcefully. "You yourself said just now you weren't sure if you were going to ever tell me or not. So what changed your mind?"

"I'll tell you what changed my fucking mind," Heero said letting the mug spin away from him. As his surface clam cracked, Wufei could see just how much of his emotions Heero had been holding in check. "It was that damn woman. I knock on your door and guess who answers – a freaking blonde bimbo wearing your shirt."

"Sharine!"

"It was so sweet, it was downright scary," Heero ploughed through. "Had I not shown up, you would have had candle lit dinner with expensive china and silver cutlery. Then what…wine and seduction…or was that even necessary?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, there's nothing between me and Sharine," Wufei shouted, standing up. "Well…" he faltered remembering that they had dated. "Not …anymore."

"Do you have any idea what you looked like when you ran out after me, yesterday?' Heero shouted back, also standing up. "You were wet, you were wearing a transparent cotton bottom and I could see the outline of your cock through it. It was so damn tempting – and you weren't dressed that way for me- it was for _her_ benefit."

Wufei paused not knowing what to say to diffuse the situation flushing at the picture Heero painted of him. "I don't dress for anyone's benefit," he said weakly.

"But when I saw you like that, I thought it was too late," Heero said, sounding a little calmer. "I thought I'd lost my chance with you and made me realize I couldn't keep on pretending to myself that you'd wait for me forever…"

Heero's voice trailed off and he looked away. The next five seconds were spent in uncomfortable silence, with neither of them knowing what to say, how to react, but it was plain Heero was teetering on the verge of either stepping forward or running away. But he did neither. He was waiting for him to do something, Wufei realized…

Wufei kissed him.

It was the first kiss he'd ever initiated with a male. It was totally unexpected and he managed to surprise himself. From the way Heero was acting, it was obvious Wufei'd managed to surprise him as well. It was amazingly easy, maybe because they had kissed in the morning but maybe because this was Heero and he knew him.

Heero seemed willing to let Wufei set the pace, kissing back but not pushing it. He put an arm around Wufei and pulled him closer then broke off the kiss, turning his head to side.

"Took you long enough to catch up," Heero said against his ear, then attached his lips to Wufei's earlobe, sucking it.

"No one ever accused me of being stupid," Wufei said, ignoring his pounding heart. "Actually, I think, in a way – I knew it would come to this."

"Come to what?" Heero asked as he slid an arm around Wufei, pulling him closer. For a moment Wufei panicked, bringing up his palms as if in defense, as his body was crushed against Heero chest.

"You need to button up you shirt," he managed to squeeze out as he leaned back a little, his hands still on Heero's chest, fingers curled inwards slightly. Why he was behaving like this, Wufei wondered. He wanted to kiss Heero, he wanted to feel the warmth beneath his palms but he also wanted to fight such feelings – as he'd always done. Only, now, his will had weakened; Heero cared for him and Wufei wanted that. Only, a small part of him wanted to fight the attraction. Getting involved was so …so messy and complicated and then they always died.

"Second thoughts?" Heero asked, relaxing his grip on Wufei but not letting go completely. He slid his hands lower, so they were loosely resting on Wufei's hips.

"I…" Wufei faltered. "I…" He unfurled his fingers, letting his palms rest on Heero's chest, feeling the skin beneath his finger tips. As if realizing that pushing Wufei would break the moment, Heero stood still breathing lightly. Heero's skin was sunburnt, smooth where he wasn't scarred, and almost hairless. Wufei let a single chest hair get trapped between two of his fingers and gave it an experimental tug. It slid free easily. He wondered how the skin would feel under his tongue, how it would taste.

He wanted to trace the small scars with something other than his finger tips and lick away the hurt. He had kissed Heero but he wasn't sure he was ready to do something that daring so he slowly let his hands wander, over the exposed area, skimming the open flaps of the shirt as he did.

His heart was beating fast and his mouth felt dry. He wanted Heero very, very badly. It was not the sort of '_she's nice'_ feeling he'd gotten when he'd seen a pretty woman on the road, not the type of '_she's a good Preventer and very efficient'_ type of crush he'd had on Sharine. This had no something he could pour into words – it was just pure emotion and it scared him. To feel so much for a single person was staggering.

Wufei kept his eyes fixed on Heero's chest. He did not want to look up and see the amusement in those blue eyes. He couldn't …didn't know what to do. His mind supplied him with an endless list of suggestions but none of them felt quite right.

"Would it be easier if we sat down," Heero asked him gently. "That way I can at least see your face."

Wufei flushed at the gentle suggestion. His cheeks and ears were on fire and he was still too embarrassed to look into Heero's eyes. He shrugged, eyes fixed on the bare chest, and turned around. To him, "sitting down" meant the sofa; and it was the sort of place where people made out –at last to his knowledge

"No," said Heero as he stopped Wufei with an arm on his shoulder. "Here…" Heero took a step back and sat on the chair then drew Wufei down. It took Wufei a couple of seconds to realize that Heero expected him to sit on his lap. He drew back, startled by the idea, but then forced himself to relax as Heero pulled him insistently with a gentle but steady grip on his forearm. He was going to get nowhere if he balked every step of the way when he wanted Heero very, very badly.

Sitting sideways was too girlish and he did not want to sit with his back to Heero, so he settled for straddling Heero's legs, facing him, keeping as much space between them as possible. As he spread his legs and carefully lowered himself onto Heero's knees it dawned to him as to why Heero had chosen the chair.

For starters, it was a kitchen-table chair so there wasn't much room for him to move. Even though he was sitting as far away from Heero as possible he was still too close. And unlike on the sofa he had nothing to hold on to apart from Heero. Seeing that he was still unsure, Heero stroked his forearm up and down in a calming gesture.

"Don't patronize me," Wufei bit out. He could feel the heat form Heero's bare legs underneath him seeping through his thin cotton trousers, and smell the fresh, just after a shower scent radiating off Heero and he was getting frustrated. "Just, do something Yuy."

In return, Heero jerked him forwards forcefully and caught his lips in a kiss. It was neither tender nor hesitating. It took Wufei by surprise; the urgency the strength as Heero practically devoured him. No girl had ever kissed him that way, holding him steady in a firm grip, taking away his control, making him feel so helpless. Heero broke the kiss just as Wufei was about to pass out from lack of air. Though he knew it was possible to breathe while kissing, Heero's kissing barely let him think about breathing

"Oh," said Wufei, a half-gasp as he was released. Heero seemed slightly out of breath as well as he threw his head back.

A forceful tug from Heero had Wufei practically on the top of him but he managed to hold back, locking his thigh muscles. If Heero wanted him to move, he would, but at his own pace.

Again, Wufei wanted to rebel at the command but the part of him that was protesting was now almost insignificant drowned out by the roar of blood in his ear. He lifted his hips a little and pushed forward until his semi-erection was pressed against Heero. He knew his clothes did little to hide his body's reaction to being kissed so intensely and from Heero's widening eyes, it could be seen as well as felt.

It was not as if Heero wasn't hard as well, but while Heero was comfortable with his body's reaction, Wufei was not.

"Relax," said Heero as he slid his shirt off, letting it drop to the floor. He tilted his head up, catching Wufei's lips again while slipping his free hand inside Wufei's loose t-shirt. He gasped as the sensation of his navel was prodded before Heero smoothed his hand over Wufei's back and then followed the line of his ribs to the front, stoking his chest and abdomen in one smooth stroke. It was almost as if Heero was doing a quick once over of the territory he had to cover before he got down to business.

Heero worried the area near Wufei's ear as he nipped and sucked at the sensitive skin, making him arc backwards. Wufei wrapped his hands around Heero's neck to prevent himself from toppling backwards as Heero slowly felt down his spine, one vertebra at a time. "I'm going to lick and suck every one of those," Heero told him roughly as his finger rested on Wufei's tail bone, pressing lightly. Wufei tensed slightly wondering if Heero would venture further down and was slightly disappointed when it didn't.

It was toe-curling sensation, especially when Heero slipped his other hand inside the t-shirt as well to feel Wufei's chest. "Uh," said Wufei as Heero found his left nipple, gently rolled it between a calloused index finger and a thumb then squeezed it. The feeling seemed to ravel straight to Wufei's groin making him harder, making him squirm against Heero more.

Heero was erect as well, he could feel it through the denim cut-offs and though Wufei knew him squirming on top of Heero's erection could hardly be pleasant, he was at a loss of what to do. And Heero seemed to be concentrating on making Wufei feel as much as possible and was not as all concerned about any other aspects. Heero paid special attention to his earlobes – Wufei never knew they were so sensitive; it was getting harder and harder for him to do nothing He believed in equal pleasure during sex no matter what his partner thought. The fingers he had laced around Heero's neck loosened a little and he let one hand wander through Heero's hair.[On impulse, he leaned forward, closed his eyes and latched onto Heero's neck, letting his teeth scrape the skin lightly. Heero made a soft sound and pushed back Wufei abruptly. Wufei gasped as he almost lost his grip, eyes widening.

"Don't," he said a little gruffly. "Don't make me loose control Wufei."

"Loose control?" Wufei asked, half dazed.

"We…" Heero said pushing up Wufei's t-shirt until it was bunched up under his arm pits. "…are not…" He pinched one of Wufei nipple hard. "…in some alley way. We have time and privacy. Do you want to go all the way?"

"All the way," Wufei echoed feeling a little out of his depth He was in the arms of a guy and…

"Oh," Heero looked more amused than annoyed as he shifted his hands to Wufei's waist to hold him steady. "Do you even know what guys do with each other?"

Before Wufei could find a coherent answer, Heero dipped his head forward and caught one of Wufei's nipples between his teeth. The question had made him pause and the action caught him off guard as his body reacted as if he'd been hit with a electric charger.

"He…ero," Wufei practically screamed, his body arching backwards forcefully as Heero's attacked his nipple Just as the sensation started to overload his system, Heero pulled back, blew hot air on the nipple then fixed attention on his other one. Wufei had never felt so turned on. Each time Heero touched him he arched his back, his hips thrust forward almost humping Heero's middle, his erection rubbed hard against Heero's bare skin.

"So," said Heero, drawing back his head. "Do you?"

"Do I WHAT!" Wufei screamed as Heero hoisted him up as if he was a doll, leaving a line of bites down the center of his chest. Still, he did not let Wufei move back and his erection was getting closer to Heero's mouth.

"Know…" Heero gasped letting Wufei move back a bit, placing him back in position. "…how gay sex works."

Had that question being asked at some other time, Wufei would have blushed. "Yes," he said as he reached for Heero shorts and the t-shirt bunched under his armpits rolled down. "Just get on with it, Yuy."

Heero got hold of the drawstrings of Wufei's pants in answer and tugged them open, then pushed down the material in one swift move, lifting Wufei easily to maneuver it over his hips. When Heero discovered that their position was not the ideal for taking off trousers he gave an impatient grunt and tore it off as if it was made of wet paper.

"Yuy, you moron," Wufei raged even as he undid the top button of Heero shorts and pulled down the zip. "That was my favorite pair."

"I'…ll," Heero gasped as Wufei found out that Heero did not believe in underwear. He thanked the gods that for some perverse reason Heero believed in shaving his crotch because underwear and zipper and pubic hair made a bad combination "Buy you…" he gasped again as Wufei maneuvered Heero's cock out of its tight confinement as if it was an emergency take off for a space launch. "…another one," he concluded.

Wufei looked up and smirked. He had been scared of everything. Of the concept of having sex with Heero. He came from a culture where it was believed only the woman were penetrated for sex. Whether it was a blow job or oral sex or just plain intercourse, it was always the woman. By letting Heero into him, he feared, it would making him seem weak in Heero's eyes – perhaps the woman of the two. But holding Heero's twitching erection in his grip, watching him gasping and shuddering at every move of his wrist, Wufei felt extremely powerful. He was enjoying it. However that line of thought brought up another problem. Did Heero intend to fuck him?

"Heero," Wufei said, letting go of Heero's penis. It slapped against Heero's stomach, leaving pre-come in his palm. "I…I don't want to …goalltheway." He was not ready to have that monster shoved up his anus.

"We…" Heero pulled Wufei close to him again and then shuddered at the sensation of one erect penis rubbing against the other. "…won't…."

The hand around Wufei's waist moved down along his spine and this time it did not stop at the tailbone. Wufei was sitting with his legs spread and Heero found his opening without any trouble. "…go in here…." and plunged in a single finger. "…fully…today."

"Yuy," Wufei cried out in shock and pain. "Not…" he struggled to move back, to force the finger out. It was unexpected and strange but not very painful, more of a burning sensation. However all his struggling did was making his cock rub against Heero, inter-mingling their pre-come.

"I swear," Heero grunted as he pushed further in. "One of these days I'll let you bend me over a table and fuck me like a whore…" Wufei could almost imagine that and he found he liked the thought. Fucking Heero, bent over the very same kitchen table… "I'll do the same to you, soon…"Heero continued as he reached with his free hand between their bodies to grip their erections together. "Just … today let me do this."

The positing was awkward as Heero was not a multi-tentacled octopus no matter what, so Wufei wordlessly pushed away Heero's large, calloused hand to replace it with his own. He gripped both their erections firmly together using both his hands, gasping as his body shook with the intense build up. He started to move up and down slowly, getting a feel for things as Heero's finger probed up and in and…probed. He lifted Wufei a bit, adjusted him swiftly as if he was weightless doll and found his prostate. In reflex Wufei tightened his grip, his head snapping back as a shock wave between an orgasm and an electric shock ran over his body. "Yuy," he half screamed, afraid he would come and afraid he wouldn't come. It was not pain but it was close the high end of pleasure – unbearable.

"You…bastard," Wufei gasped. "I…" He started to move his hands faster, rocking back and forth, impaling himself on Heero's finger with each stroke. Though the finger did not always hit his prostate he enjoyed the sensation of being filled. He slipped one hand down and cupped Heero's balls, feeling them tighten as his strokes increased in speed. "I'll get… you for this later."

"I…" Heero managed to pant out. "Don't see why you have a problem with something that feels good."

"You…" Wufei bit out as Heero's finger rubbed his prostate. "You…" He was close, he could see it. "Damn you, Yuy!" He shouted as his body finally built up to a release. It started in his abdomen, making his muscles quiver and tighten, clamping down on Heero's finger; his head fell forward and he bit Heero's shoulder hard as he came. It was the bite that pushed Heero over the edge, who in turn crushed Wufei to him with rib-shattering force as their orgasms intermingled.

"'Fei," Heero said as he came, coating both of them liberally, and Wufei relaxed as the last of the tremors died away.

They sat there for some time, trying to get their bearing, and when Heero pulled his finger out, Wufei managed to embarrass himself by making a protesting sound. He actually missed the intrusion.

Heero laughed softly, while Wufei blushed crimson, his head still buried in the crook of Heero's shoulder and neck. "You'll graduate to two fingers soon," he said.

"I…" Wufei tried, only his voice came all wrong, slightly wobbly and breathless, hoarse as if he had been shouting. "You…"

"We'll discuss anything else later," Heero said, rubbing circles on Wufei back soothingly. "Hmmm."

"Yeah," Wufei agreed, feeling far too relaxed to really concentrate. And even with come drying between them, he found it rather nice to be held by Heero like this. "But…"

"But there are a few things I need to ask from," Heero said and Wufei felt his blood run cold. Did Heero expect him to give an answer right away about their relationship? What if Heero wanted Wufei to leave with him? It was not a decision to make lightly and Wufei just wasn't ready.

"Just…" Wufei untangled his legs and stood up, then staggered as his knees gave way, forcing him to clutch at the table for balance. Blushing furiously at his weakness, he tried to find a steady footing and cursed his shaking legs. He looked down to see the remains of his pants still wrapped around one of them. Wufei shook it loose and pulled down his t-shirt, trying hard not to feel uneasy about standing semi-naked in front of Heero. "I need to know…"

"I don't think we're ready for this now," Heero said, letting his head tip back, and Wufei realized that Heero had been in danger of sliding down the chair, taking both of them to the floor.

"Shower first," Wufei said, tugging at his t-shirt which was stuck to his belly. "Then…"

"Let's not do an all out questioning session," Heero agreed amicably picking up their clothes scattered around the kitchen. "Why don't I ask one question and you can do the same for me. Full answers and no evasion…"

It was going to be _THAT_ question, Wufei was sure. "Deal," he said finally, past a hammering heart. He was not a coward, no matter what the situation and he could no longer pretend Heero and him were just friends. Fuck buddies just didn't apply, nor was it a one off thing. He had a lot of questions to ask Heero about his work as well, so maybe they could call it a draw afterwards.

"So shower," Heero said, also standing up and shrugging off his shorts. Unlike Wufei he seemed to be comfortable being naked. He let his eyes roam over Wufei's t-shirt clad form. "Want to save water?"

"Want your balls intact?" Wufei bit out automatically. "Don't push it Yuy."

"We'll see tonight," Heero said looking unfazed.

"Try anything like that and you'll be sleeping on the couch," Wufei said, turning around and stalking towards the bedroom.

"What do you know!" Heero's voice followed him. "We're practically married now, you've threatened me with the couch."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--------------------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"….do you mean by that?"

Wufei froze in the process of opening the bedroom door, his hand on the door knob as Heero's voice sailed through.

"I suppose that can't be helped." Heero was on the vid-com speaking with Sharine. Wufei wasn't sure if he should start panicking or not. When he had left earlier, Heero had been naked and the thought of him having a conversation with his partner like that was not at all encouraging. He forced himself to open the door steadily and not rush through and stopped. Heero was seated on the couch dressed in his shorts, zipped but the top button undone, the bite on his shoulder covered with dried blood. His hair, which could never be tamed, was now standing up in clumps, and what Wufei knew to be dried come was visible on his abs. There was no other way to describe it; Heero looked like someone who'd just had a good fucked and Sharine was never slow in any department.

"What is it?" Wufei forced out as he walked into the sitting room and took a look at the screen. Shrine's face was blank but her left cheek was twitching, a sure sign that she was angry, and from the way she kept on clenching and unclenching her left hand she was way beyond angry.

"Nothing," Shrine spat out. "There was a new case development so I called to tell you about it."

"Oh," Wufei said weakly. He hoped the damn woman hadn't been checking up on him. "What …"

"I already told her that you are no longer assigned to the case and need not be disturbed," Heero said forcefully.

"Heero," Wufei protested.

"I know," Sharine said. "But Wufei and I have always traded information, even when we worked on different cases." She glared at Heero but the effect was lost on him.

"From what you've told me it's out of your hands," Heero said. "Let it be for the time being. And stop bothering Wufei." He reached for the com-switch and snapped it off even as Sharine opened her mouth to protest.

"All right," said Wufei rounding on him angrily. "What was all that about?"

"She just wanted to check up on you," Heero said with a shrug and Wufei agreed silently. "She didn't have anything interesting to report, only that someone in the administration wants her to stop investigating the case for now because there are no leads. And remember that woman we went to interview today…she apparently moved to her remaining son's house."

"Oh," said Wufei thinking it over. It was hardly the sort of thing worth calling someone over about. "But still," he protested. "Could you have made it more obvious what just happened between us? Just go put some clothes on."

"We could continue with our discussion," Heero offered.

"How do you expect me to think straight when you sit there half dresses just begging to be fu…" Wufei shut his mouth a little too late, unable to believe that he had just said those words. Had he even said 'think straight' without intending it to be a pun

"Hm," said Heero, eye brows arching, looking pleased. But he got up slowly and sighed. "Shower and a change of clothes I guess. Why don't you order us some take out in the meantime?"

!!!!!!!!!!----------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"One question," Wufei said, looking over his carton at Heero.

"No yes or no answers," Heero said. "Full explanation and you are allowed to ask for answers if the explanation isn't clear."

"You ask first," Wufei said, wanting to get the worst of the questioning over with. Heero was always so obvious and…

"You said you knew about gay sex – just how much do you know?" So he did not know what Heero was going to ask.

"Yuy," Wufei protested after Heero had finished patting him on the back for chocking on his piece of chicken and gasped his way thorough the experience "What sort of question is that?"

"Just answer it," Heero said, looking like the cat that had fallen into a cage of a sedated mouse.

"I…I," Wufei colored a little. "Er…when I joined the Preventers they…have these classes on how to treat different kinds of people… and gay people was one of them. I also did an introductory lecture on how to question a Chinese or Japanese businessman and things like that. You know, it's preferred if you take your shoes off when entering their premises, how not to barge in and all those…"

"And you got a lecture on how to do a cavity check on a gay man and why you let the females do the dirty work?" Heero deadpanned.

Wufei found his carton extremely interesting but inside he was smoldering with anger brought on by humiliation and embarrassment. How dare Heero ask him such a question? How was he going to answer something so mortifying ? "Um," he sighed. "I…well most of the people there were prejudiced about such things and …and…" It was not as if they weren't lovers. So here goes nothing, he thought

"Don't lie," Heero said softly. "Just tell me how much do you know. Have you fucked someone…?"

"No!"

"Didn't think so by your reaction," Heero said objectively. "But you are holding back and I know when you do that."

"Fine," said Wufei snapping. He was the one who wanted to start this whole thing, so he might as well get over with it. "The local police and the Preventers did a join raid on the local illegal porn network and we got…we got…"

Heero wordlessly put down his carton, carefully putting his chop sticks on the side and put a hand around Wufei's shoulder, pulling him closer. Wufei shook off the hand and glared forcefully, telling Heero wordlessly that he was not some spineless idiot. "You got what?"

"Evidence," Wufei managed to force out.

"Porn videos," Heero said sounding amused. "So you watched them…"

Wufei wasn't even sure if he wanted to carry on with the conversation. "Everyone was going to watch them together but …but…" He could remember the shock and the sinking sensation of realization. He stilled pulling away from Heero and looked down, his face flaming red.

"I think that's enough," Heero said. "I'm sorry I asked you that, if it makes you this uncomfortable…"

"I turned me on," Wufei forced out, his eyes still focused on his toes. "It was fucking unbelievable. I was in a room full of people laughing their heads off and it turned me on. So I got up, told everyone just how disgusting I thought it was and walked out."

Heero remained silent so Wufei decided to continue.

"I wasn't really sure about it so later on, I sneaked out a few from the evidence room and watched them at home." He took a deep breath and looked at Heero. "That is the total sum of my experience all right. Happy."

"It's nice to see I don't have to kill anyone," Heero said with a small smile. "Your turn."

After that conversation, a discussion on something work related seemed strange and Wufei decided to turn the tables around. "What about you, Yuy?" he asked. "How many have you fucked?"

"I'm not virgin if that's what you're asking," Heero said looking straight into his eyes. "But I'm not a slut either. It's not like I'm asking you about the women you took to those cheap rooms above the bars."

"That's…"

"Let's just say you've been more sexually active than I have if you count the number of…"

"What about the condoms?" The question burst out before he could help it. "Last time…"

Heero threw back his head and laughed aloud at that. "Oh, my," he said after he'd caught his breath. "You were worried about that…Those was Duo's."

"Eh!" Wufei asked feeling out of his depth.

"You know, he and Hilde decided to have kids so they went to get themselves tested and stuffed all his leftover into by backpack as I was leaving."

"Oh," said Wufei feeling like a fool.

"It turned out that the Hilde had gotten shot at a little more often than was good for her and anyway, I think, Duo had his heart set on adopting anyway," Heero continued. "He did say there were enough kids running around without owners and he didn't feel like adding to the lot."

"I didn't know," Wufei finally admitted. "It did bug me that you had it on you. I mean, if you were with someone else…."

"That same way I feel about you and Sharine," Heero said picking up his carton again. "You know, when the custom officers at the space port saw the condom packs they went wild over them. You'd think they had the patent right on condoms here. Thought they were going to give me a cavity search."

Wufei looked down, his appetite gone. He had ordered the custom officers to keep a look out for suspicious characters after the last drug mule had dropped dead. Especially with that brand of condoms on them. Oh, this was going to be so much fun explaining.

A/N- Still not finished. And Stray tells me some of the stuff they do are impossible but er—Gundam pilots remember. Anything is possible. :) Oh…darn, I need to add another chapter. Hits head of keyboard.


	4. Chapter 4

1x5 part 4

A/N- sorry for the delay

Dawn brought more rain - and winds so strong Wufei could hear them whistling through the thick walls of his apartment. It matched his mood perfectly. He sighed, turned around and buried his face in Heero's chest, eyes closed. Heero was warm and solid; Wufei almost felt content – if it was not for the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he was supposed to undergo an eye operation that day.

Trying for more sleep seemed pointless so he wordlessly pushed off and rolled over the side of the bed, landing on the carpet silently. Heero's breathing did not change but Wufei would have been a fool to assume his partner was sleeping. Since he did not want to lose face completely by acting like a nervous wreck he decided to head for the bathroom. That way he had an excuse for getting up so early on his off day.

He padded to the kitchen with bare feet, toes curling with cold, still dressed in his cotton shorts, now convinced that Heero was awake since even the flushing of the toilet hadn't gotten a response out of him. For Heero to sleep through that was next to impossible; he would have to be dead. Placing an elbow on the table, Wufei rested his head on his palm and waited for the water to boil. Sure, he was making a mountain out of a mole hill but his situation was so different or perhaps the word he was searching for was _new_.

Had, at the end of the Mariemeia war, Heero invited him to fight on his side, Wufei would have accepted without a blink of an eye, even if it meant having to lead a vagabond life, sleeping in a tent and eating insects. He had been sixteen and a half when he'd blown up Nataku, with no roots and no goals. Now it was different. He was stable, emotionally (well, somewhat) as well as …work wise. While he did not have a lover he had a satisfying career, a place he considered a home and people he considered to be good friends. He wasn't sure whether he should be giving up his present lifestyle on the grounds of a few words spoken to him in the heat of lust.

No matter what happened, Wufei knew there was stability in his present lifestyle. If he was ever to be shot or maimed or… well…something other than dropping dead during his line of duty and was unable to continue working, Wufei was sure he'd have a place to come home to, sit and read a book. Hell, he thought with a smile, he had a feeling the only way he was ever going to stop being a Preventer was when he was either too old or too incapacitated to hold a gun. He didn't really need to work; he had funds, not enough to live like a Peacecraft but enough to live comfortably, and Wufei always entertained the idea of writing a book about the war. Nothing big and definitely not a self-biography but maybe something about L5 and… he was going off on a tangent.

"Fine," said Wufei, forcing himself to focus on the topic which was bothering him. He wasn't sure of Heero's feelings for him. Hell, if he was to become a dead weight, he had a feeling Heero would either kill him or drop him so fast he wouldn't know which way he was facing. Sally, Une or even Sharine would accept him at less that hundred percent but not Heero. Heero was hardly the type of person to want him around, should he be anything other than what he was now, especially since Heero was the person who had changed the least since the war. Which meant Heero was still the person who had gone into an OZ base with the intention of shooting Duo after the long-haired pilot had been captured. All right, so Duo was still alive, thanks to Heero but still, as they say, it was the thought that counted.

Were he unable to function normally, would Heero still want him? How long would he be able to keep up with Heero, even in his present condition? He was not a genetically engineered super being, he was just the last survivor for L5, pure human. And no matter what Heero operated on very few emotions and things such as jealousy and…

….he remembered Heero glaring at Sharine across the dinning table at dinner.

_Fine, so what_, Wufei argued with himself. He knew these things were not going to last forever…

….even though Heero had been dropping in on in him steadily for the last five or six years…

….and it wasn't as if he wanted Heero physically, he did not get turned on by the mere thought of Heero. The pervious night they had done nothing more than snuggle and sleep and he had not gotten turned on (though it could have been because he'd come twice that day; he was no longer a horny sixteen year old jerking off alone in the cockpit of Nataku). He should not let Heero drive him up a wall just because…

….he remembered Heero pushing him against the wall in the alleyway, not the most romantic of settings, but the feel of that lean, hard body pressed against his, the way the hot breath had ghosted over his neck…

Wufei made himself a cup of coffee and gulped down two searing mouthfuls as he concentrated on willing his erection away. He thought of several ancient techniques passed down the generations in his clan, used to stem the flow of blood to various parts of the body when injured…to prevent blood loss. He drank more coffee and thought of things other than ancient techniques to get rid of his erection…he thought of eye operations and going blind. Of all the horror stories broadcasted over the televisions, about things that can go wrong when in hospital…including one incident about a woman who claimed her child had had two heads one dark and one pale.

Wufei did not need to look up to know exactly when Heero walked out of the bedroom-- it was instinct. He could have been blindfolded and he would still have found Heero in a room the size of a football field.

"You need to eat something," Heero said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down in a chair next to Wufei. Wufei continued to scowl at the source of all his problems, who seemed far too fresh for someone who'd most likely spent the entire night awake due to the tossing and turning of his companion. It was childish of him, he knew but a part of Wufei pointed out that Heero had been rather sneaky when he'd made an appointment for Wufei.

"Shut up, Yuy," Wufei managed irritably. "You don't need to tell me what to do. And whoever eats at five thirty in the morning…"

"It's just going to be local anesthesia," Heero said calmly, adding sugar to his brew. "Lasts for about half an hour per eye so it should be over in an hour and you'll be allowed to come home by afternoon."

"I don't care if they put me out with a mallet to the head," Wufei said, sounding peevish even to his own ears. "And who said I was worried about that?"

Heero regarded him over the rim of his cup and continued to sit there calmly as Wufei tossed the rest of his coffee down the drain and hurried to the bedroom to get away from the inquisitive gaze.

Wufei had a shower in hot water, then tossed all his clothes out of the wardrobe looking for something to wear. He also pointedly ignored Heero who seemed to be doing some sort of picking-up-tossing-back with the stuff he threw out at the end of the room. It took him exactly fifteen minutes to pick out an old pair of jeans and a tank top to wear. He knew he'd have to change out of his clothes when he reached the hospital so there was no need for him to dress up. But it had been a while since he'd dressed as a civilian and he wanted to do things differently.

However, why he had jeans in his wardrobe was beyond him. He did not normally wear tight clothes that restricted his movements so they must have been a gift which he had thrown to a corner and forgotten about. After another two minutes of scowling at the back of Heero's head who was rooting through his collection, Wufei gave up and sat on the edge of his bed. He watched Heero pick a loose shirt with soft blue stripes out of the pile, while selecting a matching pair of socks. Then, discovering that his jeans were too tight, Wufei undid the top button and pulled down the zipper so he could bend down and put on his socks.

As he did he tried to think of inconsequential things – like the case he was working on, or rather had been. He supposed the local police were handling it now. He remembered the time when he'd decided to chase a suspect all the way to Namibia on a hunch the day of his previously scheduled eye operation and smiled faintly. So, he had done a bit of a runner since he could have sent a subordinate but still…"What I need," he said reaching for his boots. "Is a distraction…"

It was then that Heero pounced him.

One moment, Wufei was balanced on the edge of the bed pulling on his socks, the next he was lying flat on his back, his legs dangling over the side with Heero on top of him, acting as if he'd grown extra arms while dressing.

Stunned by the unexpected …attack, Wufei let Heero grab both his wrists and hold them firmly over his head with one hand while he kissed Wufei –hard –his other hand cupping Wufei's groin. If Wufei had not been far too surprised to react, he would have admitted that he was impressed by just how well Heero could multitask. Heero gave his groin one firm squeeze before reaching for Wufei's tank top and pushing it up, exposing his nipples. This time, Heero, though far from rough, wasn't exactly gentle. He ran a nail over Wufei's left nipple, hard enough for it to startle him but not enough to scratch. Then he skimmed his nail over Wufei's chest, angling towards his navel. The tip of Heero's finger dipped inside briefly, followed by the lick of a tongue, before both of them continued their journey southwards. Wufei struggled with a couple of new sensations like the feeling of being held immobile by someone stronger and the emotion it generated within him – as well as trying to remember if he'd washed his navel while showering.

His attempt to break free from Heero's grip could be called half-hearted at best. He was certain that, should he issue a real protest, Heero would stop immediately. While he was not sure he wanted someone to have total control over him, he didn't want to do a psychoanalysis on himself while Heero was in the middle of pushing down his jeans and underwear in one swift move.

The jeans were too tight to get rid of completely Heero didn't bother pulling them down further than to mid thigh before releasing Wufei's erection from the confines of his white cotton underwear. Wufei lifted his head briefly to take a look at his leaking erection, need overriding his embarrassment, before letting his head drop back on the bed. He didn't even want to know what sort of picture he painted, lying half on-half off the bed, like some slut. However, Heero seemed pleased with what he saw since he sat back and gazed down at Wufei with an admiring look on his face. Then he gave Wufei's erection one caress, from base to tip, bring up his hand to lick away the pre-come collected on his thumb before reaching for Wufei's balls.

How about: Heero fondled them expertly, making Wufei groan with pleasure, and then groan again in frustration when he paused in his ministrations. Heero shifted and tightened his grip on Wufei's wrists, slipping a hand under his knees at the same time. Wufei didn't expect the move with which Heero lifted his knees to shoulder level with the easiness as if he were handling an infant. Then he was being folded in two, his knees pushed down to his chest, legs held captive by his jeans.

Heero freed one of his hands from under his knees and it was when Wufei felt a pre come slicked finger probing his entrance that he realized what was happening.

And panicked. He twisted his hands free, got his legs free and pushed Heero to the side, using his body weight. Taken by surprise, Heero toppled sideways. His first reaction was to go alert and look for the nonexistent enemy then relaxed completely, letting Wufei take control. True, he and Heero were used to each other but he had no idea about Heero's sexual practices. Until recently, Wufei hadn't even truly been aware that Heero might prefer men and he did not know if Heero was into some sort of perverted sex games which included domineering his partner or… Wufei surged balancing above Heero precariously due to his restrained legs, catching Heero's lower lip in a savage kiss, tasting blood as he drew back.

He looked at Heero, teeth tinged pink with blood and licked his lips. "Yuy, I'm not ready to be fucked up the ass just yet."

"I wasn't going to," Heero said smugly. "You said you needed a distraction."

"That was not a distraction, you moron," Wufei almost shouted, scrambling off awkwardly with his jeans still at his knees. "It's…it's…." he tried to pull up his jeans and underwear and failed, falling off to his side on the bed, facing Heero, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment. "…sexual harassment." His erection was wilting and all he wanted do was to hit Yuy for being such a …a…

Without a word Heero held up a hand, open palmed as if calling for the argument to come to a halt. Then while Wufei watched in stunned amazement, he unzipped his jeans and eased out his straining member. Then wordlessly, Heero pushed down Wufei and rolled over him until he was lying half on, half off Wufei and blindly groped for his wrist, then placed Wufei's hand on his erection and breathed lightly into his ear. "Unlike you, I can't simply will this away so I'm going to need a little help from you."

The protest… the angry arguments that had been building inside Wufei died at that point. "Yuy…Heero…" Trust Heero to do something that would throw him off kilter. Heero felt warm against him, relaxed so he didn't complain even though his arm was sandwiched between the two of them, which didn't give him much leverage.

"I'm willing to relinquish control over to you at any time," Heero said simply, his head buried in the curve of Wufei's neck and sighed. Unable to stop, Wufei traced Heero's erection with his thumb and forefinger then closed his fist around it. Heero lay very still, breathing in small gasps. "I wasn't going to fuck you just now," he said as Wufei tightened him grip. Instinctively, Heero's pelvis surged forward, grounding hard , pushing Wufei into the mattress. Wufei put his free hand on Heero, maneuvering Heero so he was lying on his side then turned to face him. The strain on his shoulder from that move was worth it. His gaze met startling blue eyes and he smiled a little ruefully.

"Care to explain to me the drama you enacted a few minutes ago," Wufei asked even as his hand sped up its movements.

"You…" Heero gasped as Wufei gave his wrist a small twist, then let go so he could trace the vein on the underside. "…would never have trusted me if'd told you to just trust me," he managed finally.

Smiling slightly, Wufei propped his head up on his free hand while his other hand continued its motion. "If I didn't trust you to stop when I tell you to, you'd be lying on the floor with a broken nose at the least, and don't think you being stronger than me would make a difference."

"But you didn't," Heero pointed out. "You…" he gasped suddenly, arched forward and closed his eyes, his body shuddering as he came. Wufei paused for a moment, having been caught unaware as warm, viscous liquid splashed onto his hand then continued to move slowly until the last of the aftershocks had died down. Then he lifted his hand up into the light for inspection, noting the still warm contents. He lifted it to his mouth, hesitated then took a small swipe of it with his tongue ….and grimaced.

"I think you've been watching all the wrong porn films," Heero said dryly, if a little breathlessly as he pulled the corner of the bed sheet up and wiped Wufei's hand with it.

"Shit, Yuy," Wufei jumped. "I had these sheets laundered last week. Do you mind?"

In reply, Heero rolled on top of Wufei and kissed him once briefly. "You need to let other people take care of things once in a while," Heero said with a small smile. "And admit it…you aren't worried about the surgery any more."

Wufei froze, his mouth open in protest…and surprise. "You bastard," he shouted. "Is that what you call a distraction? Yuy, what were you planning to do next, setting fire to my kitchen?"

"Actually…" Heero started to say when a faint beeping sound from his back pocket stopped both of them in their tracks.

"You have a cell phone on you?" Wufei said softly.

"All the time," said Heero pulled out the ultra-slim Barton Digital[1 model and expanded it with the press of a button. He looked at the caller number display, switched on the speaker and threw it down onto the bed next to the two of them. "Sally"

Wufei decided that it was not the best of times to comment that Heero seemed to know Sally's home number about as well as Wufei knew. Or maybe he just knew all the contact numbers he ever needed by heart.

"Heero," Sally said sounding formal. "I just wanted to confirm that Wufei is coming in to the Preventer hospital today not sneaking off like last time."

"He'll come," said Heero while Wufei fumed at the meddlesomeness of his co-workers who seemed to think he needed to be taken care of. It had not been his fault that he had followed up on a hunch to Namibia on the day that was previously set for his eye operation.

"Where is he?" Sally asked.

"In bed," Heero answered blandly.

"Well tell him to get his ass out of his bed and come down to the Center. We need to do some preliminary tests before we start so he'd better not be hiding under his covers…"

"Why don't you tell him yourself," Heero said in his nasal voice then suddenly Wufei had a sinking feeling. "You're on speaker."

"Are you… there with him…?" Sally asked hesitantly, the last part of the question trailing off as if the person asking the question realized that maybe they don't need to know the answer.

"Actually," Heero looked at Wufei and smirked. It was a small change of expression but having gotten used to Heero's range of expressions, he knew exactly what it meant. That smirk meant Heero was about to do something Wufei was going to punch him. Eyes wide, Wufei mouthed 'no', knowing it was too late to prevent whatever Heero was going to do. His heart sank when Heero smirked, meeting his eyes squarely, and said, "…I'm lying on top of him."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Is it too much for me to hope for a normal work place?" Wufei fumed as he got into the elevator. "You know I work with those people, Sally, Sharine…and I would appreciate it if you didn't …" He paused as another person came running to the elevator as the doors stared to slide together but the twin glares of both Wufei and Heero deterred the man from stepping in. He gave them both a nervous smile, seeming to remember something that needed to be done in the opposite direction. "The problem with you is you have no idea of the rumor that can get you cornered in a work place," Wufei continued, harping on the topic of discretion of preferred sexual partners in the work place. "The…The…"he faltered as they approached the seventh floor of the Preventer medical unit and swallowed dryly, grateful that he was standing in front of Heero so only his back was visible. He was sure his face was patsy with fear.

"Hn," Heero said from behind him then unexpectedly, hugged him. It was brief and Wufei remained as stiff as a board during it but he was touched. It was about as intimate as they would ever get in public…if he had his say in it. And Wufei did want his personal life personal, personal even from his friends.

Wufei opened his mouth to tell Heero that he did not need to be coddled then shut it as he realized that he could not behave like that forever. He could not deny everything Heero did just because no one had ever done something like that to him before -- especially since he _did_ like it.

As the elevator door pinged open, he sighed, squared his shoulders then stepped out, ready to face the ordeal. It was slightly disappointing to find himself in a long, empty corridor, lit with bright fluorescent lights. A reception desk stood at the far end with two people talking animatedly, leaning against it. He squinted into the distance and could make out the trademark yellow-brown braids belonging to Sally and grimaced. Seriously, next that woman would drop in on him to make sure he'd brushed his teeth before going to bed.

Having seen him in the distance, she turned around and waved enthusiastically then started to walk towards them. Wufei almost closed his eyes in relief when he noted that she treated him no differently from any other occasion, and that Heero statement had not changed her attitude towards him. Sally meant a lot to him as friend and he did not know how to react, had she turned out to be a homophobe.

"I see the two of you made it," she said as a greeting. "Heero…how's work?"

"Fine," said Heero, monosyllabic as usual. End of discussion.

"Wufei…" she seemed to hesitate and Wufei's heart sank a little. Then she turned back to Heero and nodded. "You're listed as Wufei's next of kin…" Ah, Wufei'd forgotten that. The five Gundam pilots had signed up as each others' next of kin according to their call sign numbers (1-5) and Heero was his. And Wufei was Quatre's and Quatre was Trowas' and so on. 'In case of an accident or a bullet to the back of the head,' as Duo had said when they were filling out the forms. "…some paper work to sign and a few things…" Sally continued.

"Where's Wufei's room?" Heero asked in a flat voice.

"Room fifteen, second door to the left down the South wing corridor," Sally replied promptly. Apparently she was more familiar with the hospital than he had imagined.

"You want me to go to the room and wait like a good little boy…" Wufei started to say when Sally interrupted him with a wave of a hand.

"Shoo," she said as if he was fly. "Sharine is waiting for you there… Something new about your case she just can't let go unmentioned."

Wufei's mood brightened a little. No matter what Heero thought, Sharine was not an airhead. If she wanted to discuss something, it must be important. He saw Heero open his mouth to say something at the mention of his partner, but Wufei didn't give him the chance to do it as he side stepped Sally and hurried off.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1-----------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

Wufei almost knocked on the door before he remembered that is was hospital room -- his room and only Sharine was supposed to be inside. Plus, he did not know the etiquette of entering one's own hospital room, so decided to skip the formalities.

The room was like any hospital room, sterile with a narrow, uncomfortable looking bed and an array of sockets on the wall, which various machines could be plugged into. Sharine emerged from the wall closet with a disgruntled look, saw Wufei standing blank-faced by the bed and sighed.

"I hope he's a good fuck because there's nothing more I can say about him," she said, dusting off her hands on the sides of her Preventer uniform pants.

"The room secure?" Wufei said casually, pretending he hadn't heard her.

"As can be," Sharine said, pocketing her scanner. "There are no bugs or other radio signal sources. The mirror in the room is strictly one way and the balcony outside had a safely mesh so over-enthusiastic patients don't take running leaps to freedom."

Wufei looked at the balcony, visible through the open French window, and nodded. The glass was probably shatter-proof and while the balcony was there to relax the patients, the mesh announced that it was not a Hotel but rather a hospital. Preventers, like most people who lived on the edge, burned out fast and were not always stable -- they had a high casualty rate, sometimes self inflicted.

Though the entire wing of the hospital was Preventers only, it did not stop them from being paranoid over security. Maybe because everyone knew it to be the Preventer Wing that the security was so high. "The mesh is fixed on the inside," Wufei pointed out as he walked outside. "And we are on the seventh floor…one good kick from the outside could push it inwards…"

"Ground is secure," Sharine said dryly, matching his tone. "And if you think anyone is enthusiastic enough to get into your room from the roof, forget it. There are seventeen floors above you. Trust me, you aren't worth the trouble."

"That's nice to know," said Wufei stepping inside and sliding the French window closed.

"I mean," Sharine said looking thoughtfully. "I knew you screwed the big boobed chick from the Storage Department but well…you didn't show the least bit of interest in getting into my pants so …oh well….you must be gay."

"Sharine," Wufei finally snapped unable to keep up his façade of disinterest. He was sure his face was beet red by now. "It wasn't planned, it just happened and I meant you no insult. You are a very pretty female and… you have big boo…um…you know…" he was digging himself a nice hole. "We… I that is…"

"You sound rather stupid you know," she said smiling gleefully.

"What do you want me to say?" Wufei snapped. "That you look better in your Preventer uniform because everything else you wear is so short your knobby knees stick out?"

"That's more like you. And I don't have knobby knees, thank you very much," Sharine said with a smile. "But you do look better in civvies. Your butt looks better in those tight fitting things -- he must appreciate that."

"What!" Wufei spluttered.

"You look so guilty," she said with a smile. "And embarrassed…You'd think I caught you masturbating while peeking at Lady Une... instead of issuing one unconfirmed assumption based on some half naked guy on your sofa."

Wufei groaned and closed his eyes. He'd walked right into it. "It was just last night that we…"

"Declared each other your undying love?" Sharine said as she pulled out a folder and started taking out glossy photos then lying them down on the bed in a particular orders.

"Case photos?" Wufei asked, his interest perking at the sight. He walked over and picked one up, disappointed to see that it was an old dressing room chair. He ignored her question since it bordered on certain things he did not even want to think about.

"Hmm," said Sharine all business as she passed to him an old fashioned utility lap top. "Check out the folder for the investigation. Tell me what you see on the scans."

Wufei called up the folder and enlarged the image, looking at the fracture of the skull from both inside and outside angles.

"It's not…" he looked at in closer, squinting, wishing he'd brought his reading glasses. "…fatal."

"It was the shot to the chest that killed him," Sharine said with a grimace. "Just as we suspected. People have been known to live with half their skulls caved in. From what the doctors tell me, he'd have had a little trouble remembering stuff once in a while but he'd have made it. On top of that, the records indicate that he wasn't the brightest guy to start off with. Not many people die from hitting their heads on the edge of the kitchen chair…especially since the experts say the chair would have titled backwards…maybe fallen to the ground absorbing most of the impact."

"We got a match on the bullet?" Wufei asked, looking at Sharine. She wouldn't have bothered with him if the case wasn't going anywhere.

"Why do you think we were told to drop the case?" Sharine countered. "There are no prints but no doubt about it. The gun that fired it was Preventer issue." Only three people knew where the Preventer handguns were made – Lady Une, Sally and Wufei …and hundreds of people working in the factory, or the factory owner.. They were specifically made for them by a small company in L4, under the patronage of former pacifist Winner.

Wufei swore under his breath. Preventers were formed by Lady Une as 'fire control' as she would say but there were hardly that many people trying to take over the universe on a daily basis. Since there was a lack of megalomaniacs with a perchance for mobile suits, Preventers usually pitched in to help the city's local police on certain cases. It meant more contact with the locals and a higher chance of becoming corrupted. Still, it was hard to imagine why anyone would kill a low down scum like …

"There is no motive for a Preventer from our division to be directly involved" Sharine said softly breaking his train of thought. He noticed that she'd mentioned their division only, not all Preventers.

"But we did have a shipment of guns stolen from us at the spaceport about a year back," Wufei said with a sigh of relief. Though it was suspected to be inside work of someone who knew the Preventers operations, it could have very well been a group of pirates who operated at the space port. This case was starting to give him a headache. "You're following the leads even though you are off the case, aren't you?" he asked. He knew the answer even before she confirmed it. If it had been him he would have done the same.

"There is a direct link between the dead guy's brother… Alexander whom you pointed out as a suspect, and the space port pirates," Shrine said with a grimace. "We think the pet shop his mother was running was a cover for that…you know…you can pretend to be shipping a dog to a client and get all the shuttle information and…"

"The same old thing," said Wufei leaning back away from the screen. His head was starting to throb and he was missing his glasses already. "What if you question the old lady…um… Maria Fernandez again?"

"No can do," Shrine said taking the lap top off him. "Didn't your fuck buddy tell you? I told him to pass on the message when I called yesterday."

"Heero isn't my fuck buddy and no, he didn't tell me anything," Wufei snapped. He was going to deal with that later. Right now, the case was more important.

"I thought a relationship was based on trust and…" Sharine smiled smugly

"You're pushing it," Wufei growled. "Finish that and I'll …"

"You'll what… dump some shitty case on me?" Sharine snapped back. "Kill my mother and stuff her under your bed…"

"Just get on with it, woman," Wufei snapped. "I'm running out of time here and if all you can do is spout weak insults then…"

"The old lady had a heart attack shortly after you left," Shrine said abruptly. "Luckily, she had one of those implants… Winner-co Heart to Heart which calls for help on the open medical channel while stabilizing the heart beat. She's fine but she's moved in with her oldest son and he won't let us near her unless we get a warrant from a judge. Since the medical report says the heart attack was stress-induced and people have been known to go into shock after seeing your ugly face… The son is furious and we're off the investigation."

"Our hands are tied," Wufei said with a grimace, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I should have brought the lap top with the big display," Sharine said apologetically. "I thought you'd remember you glasses."

"Didn't see much point in bringing those here since the main reason I'm here is to get rid of them," Wufei said. "What do you want me to…"

"You said you knew a friend who knew the Sweepers…" Shrine said hesitantly.

"The space pirate angle," Wufei said nodding. Duo might just look into it if Wufei asked…nothing else. "I'll get on that as soon as I'm out of this place. Anything else…"

"Paper work…" Sharine grimaced calling up another folder on the lap top. "Authorization...stuff I need your seal on. Though I'm in charge, by the time the rest of the departments get that memo you'll be back at work and there are a few things I need you to take a look at…"

"Read them out to me," said Wufei as he keyed in his password and called out his electronic seal from the HQ. He did not want to squint at the screen anymore.

"Fine…" said Sharine, bringing up the documents one by one. "This one is to approve Anna Holtens' sick leave for Wednesday and Thursday. Brother's wedding but all her casual leaves are used up. This is the pay sheets for last month, all in order, I checked, and this is the letter giving me the right to have your child through artificial insemination, since you're gay and unlikely to have sex with me in the near future… 

"SHARINE!"

!!!!!!!!!!111----------------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111

"You're close," Heero said as Wufei sat on the cold metal examination table, waiting for his blood report to be released.

Wufei measured the distance to the edge of the table and shook his head. He was not that close. He was discomforted enough by having to wear hospital regulation drawstring pants and an open backed top so he wasn't about to follow Heero warped logic. "I won't fall off," he said firmly.

"You and your partner," Heero stated bluntly.

"Sharine," Wufei said looking up and then thinking it over. "Yeah…sort of …I guess." He had not been too happy about being paired up with a female in the first place. To be partnered with a small, blond Barbie had been something he had protested against strongly. He had had gone out of the way to make it difficult for her, by acting standoffish and rude. But then one day after having chased down an armed suspect, the man had turned around with a gun and Wufei had unthinkingly stepped in front of Sharine. She'd slapped him on the back of the head, snarled something about acting like a gentleman when least needed, and shot the suspect from under his arm. "Why didn't you give me her message when she called earlier?"

"There was no need, you were off the case," Heero said dryly. "You were chasing her around the bed when I walked in."

"It was…" he looked at Heero directly and smiled a little, trying to diffuse the tension. He had been thinking of confronting Heero about holding back information and now he had turned the tables on him. "Jealous, Yuy?"

"No," Heero said looking at Wufei with an irritated look. "I don't believe in open relationships."

"I'm not sleeping with her," Wufei said, looking at Heero fighting a real smile for the first time of the day. "I don't believe in open relationships either, you know."

"Hn," said Heero with a scowl and looked away, interpreting Wufei's smile as something else.

"I don't see why you'd think it is funny," he said, his brows knitting together. Apparently, Heero was pissed off.

"You're an idiot," said Wufei, reaching for Heero shoulder. He pulled Heero closer, and since now they were the same height, Wufei found it easier to reach Heero's lips. Heero moved stiffly, not yet having forgiven Wufei for spending time in the room with Sharine. Wufei was not sure if it was good or bad that his partner cared. All the relationship guides he had seen around the office (promoted by the government and handed out as mandatory for better mental health) were for heterosexual couples. And anyhow, they stated that it was good to have a possessive partner while at the same time it was bad to have a possessive partner. Wufei decided that in the end, he simply liked having a possessive partner.

It made him feel…strong…as if he was special and Heero cared for him.

Maybe he was reaching for something that was not there, but it did help him relax his guard enough to force a kiss on Heero. Heero responded reluctantly at first, but then with more force as he put a hand around Wufei's hips, then his hand slipped down the back of his drawstring pants. Wufei gasped as Heero's calloused palm cupped one of his buttocks and pulled him forward. He was pressed against Heero's erection. Then Heero stiffened at once. Wufei's hands were also curled around Heero shoulders, so it took them three seconds to untangle -- enough time for Sally to walk in with a medical pad in hand. She froze at their sight, seeming to consider her options, and finally choosing to turn her back to them and give them time to pull themselves in order while she closed the door.

"You know," she said little shakily. "When Heero said he was on top of you, I thought he meant you were… sparing in the bedroom or something, not…"

"Oh, god," said Wufei, wanting the floor to open up beneath him. With his luck, he would probably fall to the next floor. "I suppose it's too late for us to…"

"It's not like I didn't see you two click on the Peacemillion…" she said looking at the medi-pad. "Do you want me to give you a lecture on the importance of lubrication in anal sex…"

Wufei groaned and closed his eyes. Great, now Sally was teasing him.

"I already know that," Heero said thoughtfully. "But Wufei has been watching the wrong type of p…"

Wufei boxed Heero in the stomach, propriety be damned. Not that Heero really felt it but really! "My blood work…"

"Well, the bad news is, we might have to put you under," she said, becoming all business. "The good news is, when you wake up, it'll be all over."

"Why?" Heero demanded.

"Wufei's blood work is… unusual," she said. "Both of you have a few things in your blood streams that are unnatural… Heero's more so than yours, but still, we have no idea how you'll react to local anesthesia. I'm impressed at the changes those scientist have done to you and for them to remain after so much time has passed. Heero, I can understand …but for Wufei as well…must have been some surgical glandular implants…"

"Just do it," Wufei snapped. "Let's get this over with."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1---------------1111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wufei woke up feeling odd, there was a pressure around his temples…the bandages… and he couldn't open his eyes. They didn't hurt…but they felt strange…and…and…there was someone else in his room. Not Heero, he could always tell, not Sharine …not… "Who's there?" he asked, only his mouth was dry and all he managed was a weak wheeze.

The person did not reply. Not a doctor or a nurse…but still, he knew someone was there. Who….

[1 Stray's suggestion

a/n- I have five word pages of Insecurities typed up and will post that within the week. I apologize for the delay. End of the year was hectic. Stray betaed this as usually, so thanks to her, this is readable. Please, I would like some reviews for this chapter, mostly because I have no idea if ppl are still reading this. Thank you for being with this story even with the horrendous delay. I promise I'll try to finish this off without further delay.


	5. Chapter 5

1x5 Chapter 5

A/N- You see, the thing about me writing humor is that I have to underline it and point it out. But feel free to laugh whenever you want.

Betaed by Stray as usual. Without her, this story would have been …dgfgkflgkfhkghghk.

Wufei woke up feeling odd, there was a pressure around his temples -- _the bandages_, he realized -- and he couldn't open his eyes. They didn't hurt…but they felt strange…and…and…there was someone else in his room. Not Heero, he could always tell, not Sharine …not… "Who's there?" he asked, only his mouth was dry and all he managed was a dry wheeze.

The person did not reply. Not a doctor or a nurse…but still, he knew someone was there. Who….

Wufei took a deep breath and tried to analyze the situation. He remembered that he had woken up twice before; the drugs he had been given for the operation had done strange things to his system. They had either been too strong or he had not been able to shake off the aftereffects as he usually would have. He remembered that Heero had been there once – he was sure it was Heero -- who had sat next to him on a chair, talking in a low voice to someone-- Sally perhaps. Then a nurse – well, he thought it was a nurse -- had been walking around. He had been able to make out the sound of footsteps; flat sensible shoes, the faint smell of perfume and anti-septic. Then he'd gone under again so it was almost as if it had been a dream

But whoever was with him now was not a part of the hospital staff; he was sure. '_Why_,' he wondered, '_do I think who ever is here_'…he froze…'_**are**_ _here_'…he thought as he heard the sound of rustling fabric to his left, not where he had heard the footsteps. '_do not belong here_,' he finished his thought bleakly.

He deliberately stopped trying to use his eyes, slowing down his heartbeat with care. '_Pretend you're in a dark room_,' he thought as he let his other senses take stock. '_Stop trying to open your eye through the bandages._' He slowly closed his fingers, letting both his arms shift a little, bending them slightly at the elbows. There was no resistance on the inside of either elbow meaning no IV attached. He closed his toes under the sheet, felt his ankles flex…he was mobile. Good!

Next the room; he tried to imagine what the layout would be like; he'd seen it that morn…well, before the operation since he had no idea what day it was. The room had been bare then but he could remember the nurse moving near him with something, a food tray perhaps. So, there must be a nightstand next to the bed and maybe a chair as well.

The footsteps he'd heard had quieted but the person had not made any effort to be quiet so he must be standing still. Wufei concentrated…to the right. The person breathing and fidgeting a little was to the left, further away and …he heard the sound of the scruff of a shoe against the cheap carpet. Three people at least, and since no one was entering the room, at least one at the door as a watch out, maybe two. Better to assume the worse, so three people in the room, two outside. All those inside were wearing heavy shoes, boots maybe and that smell…

"Preventer Wu Fei Chang," the footsteps to his left drew closer and Wufei inhaled softly, confirming the smell. It was something he was infinitely familiar with, rose essence mixed with sulfur, as Sharine had described it once. The special oil used to clean their Preventer issue guns – whoever was in the room with him was armed or had been armed until very recently.

"Yes," Wufei said carefully, drawing up his legs slightly. Hospital beds were not soft and springy, thank god. It gave his heels some purchase which was a relief. He had spoken before so it was pretty useless to pretend he was unconscious and he needed to confirm his suspicious. For all he knew, if he didn't speak, they'd assume he was asleep and shoot him in the head and he'd never know. "It's Chang Wu Fei."

"I see you're awake," the man said coming closer.

Wufei nodded still listening. Ah yes…he was on the Preventer floor of the hospital and there was a tight security on the ground levels. Even he had left his weapons before coming up the elevator with Heero so these people must be unarmed. Or at least sporting nothing more lethal that a ceramic knife. Or Wufei hoped. Not that he had much to hope for now.

"Who are you?" Wufei said softly, letting his throat work. His mouth was dry and he was thirsty but he was already more in control of his.

"Just a messenger," the man said, drawing closer. There was the soft slick of knife blade being drawn.

Wufei concentrated on his knees. "I thought you had pigeons for such things," he said, then sprang. He had very little time to assess his situation as he moved. He realized he had moved just in time when he felt the brush of moving air on his face. He had just missed a knife swing by the tenth of an inch.

He swung off the bed, heading for the second person in the room, towards the left. They would not expect him to move in that direction. He used his left hand to throw away the cover just as he moved in a sweeping motion over his head. As long as it was behind him he would not have to worry about tripping over it. He knew from experience that things like paper and fabrics flowed and fell differently from what was expected, and since he was fighting blind he could not use something that unpredictable as a weapon.

Even as he jumped to his feet Wufei knew the drug had not yet completely left his system. His knees almost buckled, forcing him to tilt forward and take a smaller staggering step. Then as he surged forward, his shin hit something hard.

He had miscalculated; he had assumed the chair was on the other side of the room – instead it was a massive pain just below his knee-- crap. It also stopped his forward momentum so he could not move in the intended direction. With a gasp, Wufei fell to his knees, grasped the leg of the chair and swung it over his head without slowing down. The chair was standard hospital issue, light and durable (probably of some offensive color as well) and it swung easily and connected with something solid but yielding.

The person to the left grunted. Hit!

The chair was light weight and it had been a one armed swing so the blow was nowhere as effective as Wufei would hope it to be but had connected. Now he had something to go by. He let go of the chair – it was only effective as a weapon as long as the element of surprise was on his side –otherwise it was useless piece of junk. He sprang from the ground using his right hand to push his body up, left hand going for his bandages, and barreled toward the direction where the chair had connected. He ran into someone solid and burly, someone who was already moving out of his way. His shoulder connected solidly with that person's forehead- someone short and fast then. Wufei kept on moving, left hand searching for the edge of the bandages; hit the French window and dropped to his heels. Just in time as the window behind him exploded into a thousand fragments of glass. What caused it, he didn't know, but something had hit the glass hard enough for it to shatter. The force drove most of the glass outwards towards the balcony but some fell on him and on the floor around him.

As he stood up, Wufei could feel glass cutting into his bare feet, palm and upper arm but he was more concerned with his bandages. He knew he shouldn't take them off yet but he needed to see. It was no use running around like a blind rat when all he'd do is end up dying. Damn!

He had to keep moving towards the door. He was facing the opposite direction if he was not mistaken but he couldn't exactly make a dash to the door- it was counterproductive. His probing fingers found the edge of the bandages and tore off the fastening.

There was a lull in the attack as everyone took stock. They had most likely not expected the invalid to make such a move and even as the bandage unwound, Wufei heard more footsteps. The same weighted steps, same footwear…not help but more reinforcement for his attackers.

"That was quick, Preventer Chang," the same person spoke. "No wonder they say you are the top Preventer of…"

"What do you want?" Wufei asked, stalling for time as the sticky end of the fastening got tangled up with his hair.

"You messed with someone I care about," the man continued.

"That's a few hundred thousand," Wufei said, mentally measuring the distance from the voice to the corner he was in. The wind from the hole in the glass brushed his cheek softly. He heard the glass crunch near him, ducked, swinging out his foot in a sweeping motion. His already abused leg protested but he hit his target solidly behind the knees, tipping the man over, backwards. Now…Wufei sort of leapt up caught the falling man and used his body weight to push him through the hole in the French window onto the balcony. The man he was holding went through, screaming as his body encountered the glass shreds. Wufei felt something sharp slice up his arm from wrist to elbow in one deep slash…a shard of glass, probably protruding from where it broke, but he jerked his hand back instantly. None of his muscles were cut, he could still move.

His left hand finally managed to pull off the last of the bandages. He was free. Well no, but he should now be able to see. He tore off the eye padding and opened his eyes…and gasped. Shit….light burst into his head like an express train, seemed to burn into his retinas and come out of his ears. Wufei almost screamed, clamped a hand over his eyes and jumped clumsily to the side to avoid the blow he knew was coming. He fell awkwardly, smashing his shoulder into the floor, eyes streaming tears.

He'd caught a glimpse of the room but maybe the price was too high. There were three more people at the door, instead of the two as he'd estimated, watching him struggle. They were confident that six men – five now if he left out the one pinned to the French window by glass –could take out one blind Preventer.

Someone came from his left. Wufei punched and missed. He heard air whooshing into his ear as something heavy, the same thing that had broken the glass, probably a baton or a baseball bat, was heading his way. He jerked his head back, bringing up his shoulder to take the blow but it was too late. The blow caught him under the eye to the left of his nose.

Wufei screamed as his cheekbone shattered; blood filled his mouth instantly, and pain radiated from his teeth to the top of his skull. His eye made a soft scrunch sound, louder than anything else, and he felt something warm running down his cheek. Blood. Wufei reached up blindly, ..._the pain_…to feel his cheek…no shards of bone but it was broken. The texture of blood felt different, slimy and thick. Sluggish…then he knew what it was and it was as if his world had dropped. His eye fluid- was it called vitreous, was leaking out. Oh shit.

He fell to his knees, hand covering his injured eye – heard a commotion by the door but really didn't care. Who – what…

Someone fell to the floor in the distance_, god he was going to be sick_. He felt nauseous, unsteady, his ear was ringing and he desperately wanted to swallow but all he could taste was blood.

"Wufei," he heard Heero shout from across the room, even as a hand pressed to the back to his neck, forcing his head down.

"Don't move," the person holding him down spoke.

"I'm going to kill you," Heero said steadily and Wufei almost smiled. Just like old times.

"I'll kill him fist." The cold press of metal against the base of his skull. Wufei just didn't care.

"It's just you and one more." Heero had taken out three at the door in one move. Impressive. Still, Wufei didn't care, but as the initial shock of the pain ebbed he knew he had to move. They needed a distraction, something to give him a split second advantage. All he needed was to move, just one second.

He really needed to…

The knife cut into skin, sharply…glass shards dug through the thin cotton hospital issue trousers….

Heero, who had been about to move forward stilled. Idiot, Wufei thought. He was blind and yet he had known that Heero was about to move forward. Too heavy on his feet. Need more practice. Need some bloody distraction…

Something like…It was probably because his eyes were closed that Wufei heard it first, the soft slap of rope against the metal mesh of the balcony…

"_The mesh is fixed on the inside," Wufei pointed out as he walked outside. "And we are on the seventh floor…one good kick from the outside could push it inwards…"_

"_There are seventeen floors above you and trust me, you aren't worth the trouble," Sharine had said._

Sharine! He thought even as the mesh was kicked inside. The man behind him jumped, startled. The knife dug into his neck a good two centimeters, narrowly missing his spine. Even as Wufei fell to the side, the best he could do in these circumstances, he heard the muted clung of a Preventer gun…once, twice. He was showered first with glass and then hot blood as the man above him toppled over him.

There were arms arching for him…large warm hands, calloused. "Wufei," Heero's voice was urgent.

"I'm blind," Wufei said.

"Shit, Wufei," he heard Sharine shouting. "You idiot…just wait. They turned off security cams and had a false alarm on the parking lot…help is here. Hang on."

"I'm not dying, stupid woman," he said from his position, pressed against Heero chest. "I'm blind." The blood in his mouth was making him feel groggy

"You're not," Heero said saying insistently. "Don't move. Shanin, get Sally."

"It's Sharine!"

"Do I look as if I care?" Heero yelled and then Wufei knew he was hallucinating. Heero never screamed. He was dreaming and all he had to do was shut his eyes and…

!!!!!!!!!!!!!1----------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wufei felt a cold compress on his forehead. It was so nice; he sighed softly to show his approval. Sleepily, he took an assessment of his condition. The rest of him hurt but in an odd detached way, which meant he was high on painkillers. His cheek ached dully as if he'd been slugged by someone; his right arm felt stiff and his shoulder twinged. He tried to move his head and froze as the bandages brushed the pillow. Shit, his eyes. He'd forgotten about his eyes. He tried to get up then, suddenly panicking.

The attack, the hospital room!

He had taken the easy way out, blacking out, but he was sure there were things that needed to be done. Things to clear out, forms to fill out… He was a Preventer and his office was probably going through a panic mode at the moment. He wanted to know about the status of the investigation, about what was happening with Lady Une and… Sharine. He started to sit up.

The hand that had been holding down the cold compass pushed down on his chest gently and whomever it belonged to made a soft sound of displeasure. Wufei frowned as much as the bandages would allow him. Whoever it was tending him was male but definitely not Heero. Why he had even assumed it would be Heero was beyond him; Heero was not the type of person to sit by a sick person's bedside and mop his brow. Just that the presence had felt familiar and safe, but if it was not Heero then…

He moved fast -- before his thoughts could finish processing -- and grabbed the hand on his chest firmly. His fingers closed around the wrist in an iron-like grip. The person hissed, startled, but did not draw back, nor did he try to pull his wrist free. Instead the arm relaxed in his hold.

By then, Wufei already knew who was playing nurse for him by his bedside. It was the same wrist he'd bandaged countless times; long, slender fingers, fine boned like an artist's. Hands strong enough to kill someone, hold up the body weight of two or three people, but also precise enough to sew small tears in their clothes. Wufei loosened his grip and relaxed back into the bed.

"Trowa," he said weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"You're awake," Trowa said sounding relieved. "You kept on slipping in and out. I wasn't sure if you were going to hang around this time 'round. I'm not even going to ask how you feel. Here, drink some water."

The straw at his lips stopped Wufei from commenting but he frowned. Trowa had spoken to him in long sentences. It could be the relief that he had woken up, but mostly, it sounded as if Trowa was slightly nervous. He sipped the cool water gratefully, a few careful mouthfuls, and regretfully drew back even though he needed more. He knew exactly what would happen if he drank too fast.

He let his neck muscles relax, sank into his pillow…wait a minute, his pillow!

"I'm home," he said.

"Heero insisted on it," Trowa said and from the way he sounded he was facing away from Wufei. Probably putting the water glass…container…whatever away. "The hospital security was compromised and we all felt it would be safer if you stayed here. No one knows the location of your flat—well a selected few and it is easier to guard."

Wufei held out his left hand slowly. "Trowa," he said carefully. "Come closer."

Trowa's hand closed on Wufei's palm instantly. "Wufei…"

Wufei followed the arm up to the neck and then cupped Trowa's cheek. He traced up the curve of the cheek and found the thin scar only the five Gundam pilots knew existed- right under his left eye. It was so fine it wasn't visible to the naked eye but could be felt if the person knew what he was looking for. "It's you," Wufei said feeling oddly relieved. "You talk too much…thought it might be someone impersonating…"

He drifted off as Trowa slowly turned his head and nuzzled Wufei's palm. Then Wufei felt Trowa's hand close around his, holding it in place. "You were saying?"

"I…uh…When did I get here?" Wufei said weakly. "I…"

"Wufei," Trowa said seriously, letting go of Wufei's hand. "Your eyes are going to be fine."

His hand went limp and fell back into bed with a soft thump. Suddenly he wanted to do nothing more than cry, scream, do something. It was as if an elephant that had been standing on his chest had stepped down and he could breathe again. "Oh," he said weakly and his voice sounded unsteady, even to his own ears. "I didn't want to know..."

"It's going to be all right," Trowa repeated firmly. "In fact, I'll take off the bandages in a couple of hours for about fifteen minutes. I have to change them and you should be able to see for a little while…"

"How long have I been out?" Wufei asked, his senses coming alive. His right hand felt heavily bandaged but his cheek did not hurt as much as he expected. Now that his mouth was no longer dry he could taste blood at the back of his throat but…

"Two days," Trowa said. "We kept you under as long as possible and Sally agreed that it was a good idea. You don't react well to painkillers so it was to wait out the worst of it."

"How bad is the worst of it?" Wufei asked . He had a lot of questions to ask but he wanted to do it one by one. His cheek hurt when he spoke but not to the point he was in agony with each small movement. It was almost as if his cheekbone had not been broken.

"Fractured cheekbone, lacerated right arm, numerous cuts and bruises… plus some damage to your sinuses and a couple of loose teeth. The eyes were a different story and the left one might not have been salvageable if you hadn't been in hospital then and there."

"Oh," Wufei said in a small voice.

"It's ok now," Trowa said firmly. "Your cheek was the easiest to fix since we have the new bone mending technology but it doesn't work that well on soft tissue for some reason…"

"I…" Wufei said slowly. Things seemed to be moving too fast and he was feeling disjointed. Where was Hee…

The com unit in the wall rang and Wufei tilted his head towards it. He realized that, unlike earlier when he'd woken up in the hospital, though he was still worried about the bandages, he was not unduly bothered by it. Most likely since Trowa was there. He trusted Trowa with his life - he felt safe.

"Your caller line identification says isn't someone called Sha…rine," Trowa supplied with a slight hesitation at the unfamiliar name. "Shall I patch you through?"

"My partner," said Wufei, struggling to sit up, hissing in pain as he shifted his injured arm. Obviously it had been playing possum and now was coming awake.

"I'll put it on the speaker," Trowa said. "You can talk to her from bed."

"I'd rather…" Wufei protested, knowing exactly what Sharine sounded like but it was too late.

"Wufei, is that you?" the familiar voice filled his room. "I've been trying to reach you for ages…what'd you do, find yourself a guardian dragon?"

"Sharine," Wufei croaked, his throat dry. He had to talk louder since the mike was at the corner of the room and his throat felt sore.

"You sound like shit," she said cheerfully. "Why's the vid turned off."

"He can't see so it's fair you don't either," Trowa spoke firmly.

There was a stunned silence then Sharine asked in a hushed voice as if for Wufei only. "You're being held at gun point to bed aren't you?"

"He's my guardian dragon at the moment," Wufei said dryly. "Green-eyed one at that. Give me a status report on the hospital incident."

"You shouldn't…" Trowa started.

"It concerns me, Barton," Wufei snapped, his instincts telling him something was wrong. Somehow Trowa's behavior felt …off. "Sharine…"

"What can I say?" she said, sounding pensive. "It was a stupid security glitch. Someone blew up a car in the hospital parking lot and while that was happening, jammed the cameras. There was enough of a time gap for six men armed with carbon fiber enforced knives and cricket bats…" he had been close when guessing the weapons used… "…to infiltrate the premises and enter your room. The hospital security is being upgraded even as we speak and…"

"How's the investigation going?" Wufei asked slowly.

"I must say your hulking ape of a fuck toy is good," Sharine said with forced cheer.

Wufei looked up sharply towards the speaker. Well, turned his head that way sinc he couldn't really see. It was not that he was concerned Trowa would find out he and Heero were lovers – he'd never intended to keep that a secret from the rest of the Gundam pilots -- but because Sharine had avoided a direct question.

"He broke the necks of three people with his bare hands," Sharine continued. "He is… ok I guess."

Approval from his partner…

"…for someone who's short on memory."

Well, something like that.

"He keeps calling me Shanin."

"Heero's like that," Wufei said automatically. "He's very bad with names" _**Not**_. Heero was a walking library, probably had been genetically created just for that. He had an I.Q. which would have made most geniuses feel insignificant and a photographic memory to match. He remembered the name of each and every person he had ever met.

"Anyway, he did say he'd bail me out."

"Where are you?" Wufei asked, concern leaching into his voice. "Dammit, woman.."

"I'm in …custody," Sharine said after a small hesitation. "I've been charged with discharging a weapon in a hospital and killing a civilian."

"But…" Wufei sat up, his head spinning not just from the sudden movement. Preventers were usually exempt from such crap and anyway, Sharine had not shot some innocent bystander at an ice-cream stall. "Someone very big is on it," he said in a blank voice. "Damn, and I'm incapacitated. How…where are you being held? Stay put, I'm coming down to the office now and getting to the bottom of this. Who's bringing up the charges…?"

"No," Trowa said sharply.

"Alexander Mendez," Sharine said bleakly. "Wufei, you have to stay out of it. He's got someone big backing him up, plus whoever turned off the hospital security camera was on the know how of the Preventers. Maybe even one of us. No one else knew you were having an operation since it was really a need to know thing. So…"

"You're disturbing him," Trowa snapped out.

"Yeah," Sharine sounded sheepish. "I know. Wufei, you stay put, I'll sort this out. There's not much you can do in the state you are in now and…"

"No need to rub it in," Wufei said grumpily. "But I can still come down and make a fuss…"

"Green eyes," said Sharine.

"Yes," Trowa said promptly with no surprise.

"Keep an eye on him."

"Will do."

"Signing out," Shrine said and the link went dead.

Wufei tried to get off the bed. "I have to go to office. Where's Heero?" They had gone to the hospital on his bike so maybe it was still in the parking lot. Not that he could ride it blind but Trowa rode an off-road Yamaha-Gundam model so he should be able to handle Wufei's bike.

"Heero's out with Duo and Quatre," Trowa said softly.

"Uh," said Wufei again. "Why?"

"Shopping," Trowa said shortly. "Duo eats a lot."

Then the enormity of it all hit him and leaned back. "You came," Wufei said in a semi-whisper. "You all came!"[1

"Stupid," Trowa said with fond exasperation. "Heero called and said you were hurt and we _all came_. You'd have done the same for us."

"But…" Wufei protested weakly. "You have work…and…so do I."

"If you're thinking of going to save your partner, Sally is on it," Trowa said firmly.

"But…"

"You need a bath," Trowa said unwaveringly. "You stink. And you also need to brush your teeth."

Wufei clamped him mouth shut and felt himself reddening. He had never slacked off on his personal hygiene so it was embarrassing that he was reduced to body odor and bad breath. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Trowa said hesitantly. "You have a pill to take now so wait here until I get it. I'll run a bath while I'm at it, just don't try to get off the bed until I come back."

Wufei frowned again at the sound of Trowa walking away, deliberately making noise so Wufei wouldn't be startled. It was the way Trowa spoke, far too many 'I's in one sentence and slightly disjointed. He'd seen that happen once before, when Trowa had been coming out of one of his 'roles' and when he had been getting into one. '_Which was it?_' he wondered. The other three had left him and Trowa, which meant they thought Trowa needed to stay put as well. Otherwise, they'd have left Quatre who made an excellent bedside attendant.

Not that he could imagine a shopping trip that required three Gundam pilots.

"What are you thinking about?" Trowa asked as he approached Wufei's bedside.

"You talk too much," Wufei said bluntly. "It's like you're trying to channel Duo. Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry," Trowa said, and from the way the bed dipped, he must have sat on the edge of the bed near Wufei. "I've never before had to treat someone who couldn't see." He paused then said apologetically, "You usually keep quiet and I could read your moods but with the bandages covering half your face I'm not sure of I'm reading you right and …" his voice dipped lower. "…you were so …so hurt. We were all worried. I'm sorry if I disturbed you or anything."

Wufei felt as if he'd kicked some kid's pet bunny. "I'm just being a bastard," he said. "It's not that I don't like you talking, it's that you act so differently."

"Like you and Heero," Trowa said dryly, and Wufei colored under the bandages.

"How long?"

"Uh," Wufei thought it over. "It's not even confirmed between us," he said. "Does he know my eyes are going to be fine?"

"Something like that," Trowa said. "Your pill."

"Do I…umph," Trowa's lips were hot and pliant, his tongue as flexible as the rest of his body as if curled into Wufei's mouth and deposited the pill onto his inner palette.

"Swallow," Trowa advised.

Wufei gulped loudly, his heart hammering. _Where had that come from?_

"You seem worried that you have bad breath," Trowa said in a slightly cheerful voice. "I meant you had dried blood between your teeth, nothing more. Ready for your bath?"

Wufei meeped.

!!!!!!!!!!!-----------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trowa gave the term sexual molestation a new twist. Not that Wufei would call it exactly that, maybe he was just inexperienced. Trowa was gentle and caring. His hands were firm when he undressed Wufei and helped him into the hot water tub. Then he helped Wufei hold his arm above water while he washed and then dried and dressed him in a pair of cotton briefs as if he was five years old.

"Steady there," Trowa said as he stopped Wufei from wobbling. "Now let's get you back to bed and…"

"I want to brush my teeth," Wufei protested.

"Mouth wash," Trowa said. "You're high on medication now so your cheek probably feels fine but trust me, you'll be thanking me afterwards for this." Wufei scowled but obliged since he could see the sense in that. After all, he was not an idiot.

He then let Trowa lead him back to bed, the painkillers wearing off enough for his cheek to start throbbing and the shinbone in his right leg to hurt with each step. He was grateful to sink back into the cool sheets and…

"You changed the sheets," he said in semi-wonder.

"They were sweaty," Trowa said mildly. "I thought you'd like to have clean ones."

"Thank you," Wufei said sedately. "That was nice of you, Trowa. Any idea why Heero is taking so long? I mean, it was just a shopping trip and even Hee…"

"He is with Duo and Quatre," Trowa pointed out. "Think you can sit up while I change your bandages? Some of those glass cuts need to be dabbed with this cream Sally left. I have to get you decent before she drops in for her visit."

Wufei opened his mouth to tell Trowa that neither Duo nor Quatre were ten years old, nor female, so did not need to shop for three hours at a stretch, when Trowa pinched his nipple.

"Barton!" Wufei yelped.

"You have a cut there." As cool air hit his skin, Wufei realized his nipple was cold as if something had been rubbed on it. But he couldn't remember getting any cuts there. Then Trowa's talented fingers started rub that cold "stuff" all over him.

Wufei wasn't sure if he were to scream or to groan with pleasure. It was a unique experience. He was, however, also becoming aware that the pain killers were wearing off and his entire face felt as if it was about to fall off. He had been solely mistaken about the extent of his injuries. However, Wufei hesitated asking for more pills since it might mean more tongue.

Not that he found it disgusting. It was just strange because he'd never thought of Trowa that way. Of course, he'd never thought of Heero that way either so maybe…

Trowa ran his hands over Wufei's body in a light, stroking fashion, which made him want to arch into the touch. This was bad. He felt Trowa's breath on his chest as he leaned over, excessively in Wufei's opinion, to reach the other side Couldn't he have asked Wufei to turn over or walked over to the other side of the bed or something? Really!

Just as he was about to cry Uncle, Trowa sat back. "Done," he said in a satisfied voice. "And just in time too."

"For what?" Wufei asked apprehensively.

"Your painkillers, and then I'll change your bandages."

It seemed as if it took forever for Wufei to swallow the two small capsules past the lump in his throat. Afterwards he sat up, clutching the bed sheet nervously as Trowa unwound the bandages.

"Open your eyes, Wufei," Trowa said softly and he obliged his heart hammering.

It was dark.

"I'm going to turn up the lights," Trowa said softly. "Let me know if it hurts."

Heart beating, Wufei nodded. The light switch was near the bed and Wufei felt Trowa move before the room started to light up in a soft yellow glow.

"It's…" Wufei swallowed to get rid of the dryness. "Blurry."

"Your eyes are dry. Blink." Soft instruction which barely penetrated his mind.

Wufei did just that.

"Better?" Trowa's voice was low, almost hypnotic.

"Yeah," Wufei could feel a smile of relief on his face. "It's better. Turn up the light a little bit more Trowa, I…"

There was a bang as the front door opened forcefully, making both of them jump. "Honey, we're home," Duo's voice came through.

"You're just in time," Trowa called out grinning. "Come say hi to Wufei. He's up and the bandages are off."

Duo was at the door so fast Wufei blinked. Then he blinked again when he saw Duo's black clothes and blue teeth, the latest fashion trend on L2, which thankfully was not yet popular on Earth.

"You've scared my neighbors away, haven't you?" he asked warily.

"Apart from the old lady who thought I was hot," Duo said flippantly as he walked towards Wufei. "Oh, man you're so colorful I don't know if I should hug you or not. Do you think a small hug would hurt…uh?"

Wufei held out his hands and Duo was onto him, arms around him. "It's good to see you up and about," he said finally. He pushed back and looked closely at Wufei. "Eyes ok? Well don't strain yourself and…" He fingered Wufei's bandaged arm and smiled weakly. "That's going to scar but I think a nice scar will look good on you…"

Wufei reached up and took hold of Duo's hand which was on his arm. "I'm all right," he said firmly. "Will you quit being melodramatic?" Duo had big hands despite being an inch or so shorter than Wufei, long nailed, with brown dirt crusted under his nails. As Wufei looked down with slight curiosity, Duo looked down and flushed.

"Will you look at that," he said with a slight laugh, pulling back. "I'll have to wash that off now." He started to walk towards the bathroom. "I fixed your bike, you didn't put in the new pistons I sent you, so I had to do it myself."

Wufei smiled at Duo's retreating back and nodded. "Thanks."

"No problems, bro," said Duo going to in and closing the door.

"Me next I think," Quatre said from the doorway leaning against the doorframe. "I should come over and give you a hug but I'll say hi from here."

Wufei looked up in surprise.

"Heero is standing right behind me and I'd be an ass if I didn't give you two some quality time together," Quatre said standing up with a grimace. "Would you believe a five year old ran a trolley into my knee?"

"Oh," said Wufei.

"You and I are going to talk about your new status, you know?" said Quatre before limping back towards the kitchen. Wufei started to frown at the blond's odd behaviors but stopped as Heero filled the doorway. He walked into the room quietly and it was as if Wufei's world had titled sideways.

He heard more than saw Duo scuttle out of the bedroom but his eyes were fixed on Heero's form, who was wearing a bright yellow shirt with green dragons and pink hearts on it.

"Hi," he said, feeling slightly stupid. "New shirt?"

"Duo's idea of a joke." Heero apparently had not gone through the shy phase in relationships. He walked over firmly and sat of the edge of the bed. He leaned over the pulled Wufei into hug which was nothing like the gentle one Duo had given him. It was hard, almost brutal and reassuring.

"You can see?" It was half statement, half question.

"Clearly," Wufei told Heero's shoulder.

"I was worried," Heero breathed. "I…"

"Heero," Duo called from the sitting room suddenly. "Food. You'd better get lover boy something to eat, too, 'cause he isn't suppose to take his medicine on an empty stomach."

Wufei contemplated getting up just to hit Duo then deiced that he was hungry. He leaned back with a smile and nodded. "It'd better not be broth," he said.

"I'll be back," Heero said getting up and walking away, leaving Wufei feeling slightly lost. There was a lot of noise from the sitting room, far more than four people could make. Seriously, did Duo and Quatre have to argue so loudly about spoons?

But it was probably because of the noise that no one heard the com link buzz. Wufei leaned over carefully and picked it up, switching from speaker mode which Trowa had turned on earlier to normal mode.

"Chang here," he said.

"Wufei." The voice sounded urgent.

"Sharine," he said surprised. "What is it?"

"You're not going to believe it," she said sounding breathless. "The charges against me have been dropped."

"Uh."

"There's no one to bring on the charges, apparently. Everyone, from Alexander Mendez to his hooligans, had been killed. There's been this explosion at his manor, killing nearly all his men while his mother was out shopping. So she's safe but…"

Wufei could feel the com slip from his grip and had to catch it before it fell to the ground.

Duo with dried blood colored dirt under his finger nails, blushing when Wufei had noticed it…

"The police say the neighbors reported hearing gunfire…"

Quatre limping, not even coming close to Wufei but leaning against the door jamb…

"Not a large explosion but…"

"…no witnesses…"

Heero wearing a new shirt, price tag still attached…Wufei wondered if the old shirt had gotten burned or had blood on it…

"Sharine," he said slowly. "I have to go. I'll call you later." He cut the line and slowly put the com down.

Trowa distracting him every time he started to mention Heero. Keeping him busy, probably as instructed.

Very, very carefully, Wufei swung his legs off the bed.

[1 Er….not in a sexual way mind you. lol

A/N- Ok, I was not going to update this story so fast coz I was working on another but this had to be written. I've signed up for slashfest on lj- a Kakashi /Iruka from Naruto at that. I need to get working on that too, especially since I'm new to the fandom and have a few things to look up.

Having said that, a few reviews won't hurt my feelings you know. hint, hint


	6. Chapter 6

1x5 part 6

Wufei got on his feet carefully and found out that his knees were not that steady. He kept a hand on the wall next to the bed, palm open, until he was sure of his balance then walked lightly to the doorway. Halfway to the door he had to stop to pull up his sweats which were hanging dangerously low on his hips. The door leading to the sitting room was only partially closed so he gave it a push and took in the scene before him. The light made him blink; the bedroom curtains had been closed and he had assumed it was late afternoon but from the way sunlight poured in, it must be mid-morning.

Quatre was sitting on one of the kitchen dinning table chairs which someone must have moved to the sitting room because it had better lights. His custom tailored bright blue slacks were rolled up to knees and Trowa was kneeling in front of him, dabbing his leg with a piece of gauze. From the smell of it, Wufei decided that it was some form of antiseptic, probably from his first-aid box. Duo was waving a spoon over his head yelling at Heero who was trying to puzzle out the intricate secrets of which bowl where.

"What was it?" Wufei asked leaning against the doorway. "A bullet wound or a cut from…" by then all four of them where watching him, frozen in rapt attention. "…a piece of flying shrapnel."

The silence continued.

"I think," Duo said in a small voice. "It happened when he tripped over a tree root when we were getting away." He gave a weak smile then stopped when he realized Wufei wasn't about join in.

Trowa put down the piece of gauze on the floor and stood up slowly, as if -- Wufei noted with mild amusement -- he was a cornered animal. As Wufei watched, Trowa walked around the room closing the curtains. Wufei blinked a little relived. He almost thanked Trowa for this thoughtfulness then changed his mind. "I hope you managed to wash that blood off your hands," he said to Duo.

Then he turned to Trowa and seeing the blank face half hidden by falling hair, lost his fragile composure. "And you…you…perverted…" Wufei found out that he could not think of another adjective to insult the green-eyed man. His vocabulary did not have that many swear words since he believed in refinement and gentlemanly behavior, which he was starting to regret. Giving up the quest for elusive swear words he finally settled for. "…you pinched my nipples."

There was a snort which sounded suspiciously like a laugh but when Wufei turned towards the noise, Duo was sitting ramrod straight, his face suspiciously devoid of emotion, with the handle of a spoon poking out of his mouth.

"And you," Wufei said pointed towards Heero. "How dare you do something like that with out telling me?"

"Who told you?" Heero asked in a voice that said '_I'll kill that person_.'

"Doesn't matter," Wufei said, his voice bleak. "You can't just go around and kill people just because you feel like it."

"Wufei…" said Heero, standing up after placing the bowl in his hand on the coffee table.

"Don't talk to me!" Wufei screamed, angry that everyone was being so blasé about having broken the law, killed a couple of men and blown up a house. "All of you, how can you just…" He took a step towards them and staggered as his foot found the edge of the carpet. His depth perception was all screwy, he realized. A part of him groaned- this meant he'd have to go through target practice all over again to get used to this new, improved vision. It was like wearing new glasses for the first time but worse – he could not tell the distance to most objects and it was making him dizzy.

He didn't even see Heero moved before he was picked up like a child, one hand under his knees the other behind him. Wufei felt the wind being taken out of his sail. He was going to lose his standing if he allowed everyone to treat him like an invalid.

"Yuy," he shouted. "Put me down this instant, you moron."

"Hn."

He hated it when he was the only rational adult in the room.

"Perhaps we should all sit down," Ouatre said quietly. "Wufei, do you feel dizzy? Should we call Sally?"

"Maybe it's high blood pressure or hypertension," Duo quipped. "Or hernia."

"Duo, now might not be the time…" Quatre said in angry hiss, perhaps hoping Wufei wouldn't hear it –which was a stupid thing to think since it wasn't his ears Wufei had problems with. His hearing had always been exceptional.

Trowa walked to the first aid box and Wufei watched from his position cradled against Heero's chest as he pulled out a syringe. "Do you want me to sedate him?" he asked.

"Don't you dare," Duo said jumping to his feet and the spoon that had been on his lap fell to the floor with a muted clang.

"Put that thing away," Quatre said hurriedly as well.

"No!" Heero said a little loudly and Trowa shrugged then put down the syringe. Then he turned to Wufei and asking in a low voice. "Is that all right?"

"Yes," said Wufei who did not want to be sedated like some out of control mental patient. Then he remembered the original argument. "No. I mean, no I don't want a tranquilizer, not that I'm ok with the lot of you."

"Maybe we should talk about this calmly," Quatre, ever the diplomat said.

"Instead of throwing hissy-fit," Duo mumbled.

"I'm not throwing a sissy–fit…" Wufei roared.

"A hissy fit…," Duo jumped in. "…is different from a sissy fit. Now to throw a sissy fit, you have to dress up in pink bows and…umph…" Trowa had clapped a hand over Duo's mouth.

"He's a little high on the action today," Trowa said as if that were a sufficient explanation. Then he looked at Wufei, who was still in Heero's arms, and grimaced. "It's about time to put your bandages back on, so could you at least keep your eyes closed?"

Wufei obeyed grudgingly and felt Heero move with him towards the sofa. He assumed Heero would sit down with Wufei on top; instead he was placed on the sofa softly and then Heero sat next to him. Wufei opened his eyes to take stock of the situation and heard Trowa move to the bedroom, probably to get his bandages.

"Are you in pain?" Quatre asked, concerned. "Your cheek looks awfully …puffy."

"I'm in denial," Wufei said, ignoring Duo's mumblings about rivers. "I can't believe you guys took out Alexander Mendez without telling me."

"You were unconscious," Heero pointed out with the subtlety of a runaway T-Rex.

"Does Lady Une know you took them out?" he asked weakly.

"She does now," Trowa said, coming out of the bedroom and making Wufei jump. He opened his eyes and looked at Trowa's feet, which were bare, and nodded understandingly.

"Figures," he said a littlie waspishly. "What did you do, pinch her nipples as well. Oh, I forgot you were already screwing her before the war."

"Wufei," Quatre said softly. "That was uncalled for."

"Everyone knows the only other woman in Trowa's life apart from Quatre is his sister," Duo said with a small laugh. "Well, not that he thinks of both of them in the same way-- that would be incestuous and…"

"Duo," Heero said wearily. "Shut up." No one said anything about Quatre's gender issues, not even the man himself.

Wufei let Trowa bind his eyes again, letting it go unmentioned when those long slim fingers stroked his cheek as Trowa stepped back. "Sorry," he mumbled. "That was…"

"It's fine," Trowa said and Wufei could hear the shrug in his voice. "For the record though, Lady Une and I were never anything other than solider and commander."

"Well, you do get an A plus for trying to harass me," Wufei said a little pissed at everything. "Why in the world did you stay behind? So you could molest me?"

"I drew the short straw," Trowa's voice sounded hollow and Wufei stood up, bandages be dammed.

"Well, that's nice, I rank a short straw," he ground out and pushed away Heero's arm from around his wrist. He took a step blindly in Trowa's direction, fingering the bandage. "And you guys decided to go on a little trip of your own without me…"

"That's not how it is," Quatre said in a scolding voice. "Trowa, tell him."

"He said I was sleeping with Lady Une." Wufei could actually hear the pout in Trowa's voice and mentally groaned. He had forgotten that for all his blank outward appearance, 04 was the most sensitive of their lot.

"The thing is," Duo said in a serious voice. "You were in danger; we knew something had to be done. That case you were working on was causing you a whole lot of problems you couldn't have anticipated. Why don't I let Heero explain the whole thing?"

"Sit down, Wufei," Heero said pulled Wufei down with a firm hand on his waist band. Wufei fell on to the sofa with a soft 'umph' and winced as is body protested at the jarring.

"Heero," Quatre admonished.

"Sorry." Heero actually sounded sorry and Wufei bristled. He was not some piece of porcelain about to shatter under pressure.

"Yuy," he said, using the surname to distance himself. "You were saying?"

"Mendez had connections all over the place, from Prventers to the local politicians," Heero said in a monotonous voice reserved for reciting facts. "He also had a quick temper and was known for doing outrageous things."

"He blamed me for his mother's heart attack and decided the way to avenge that was to take me out of the picture," Wufei concluded. "He was probably going to kill me in the process and was hoping the investigation would stop – because Sharine was following it up even with the stop order from higher up."

"He would have continued to come after you no matter what," Heero stated. "There was no way we could have dissuaded him by having a peace talk so we decided to eliminate him." Amazing, Heero knew words synonymous with kill such as eliminate. Wufei had thought his vocabulary had been stunted when it came to the k-word.

"You needed time to recover," Quatre said. "You would not have been in fighting form for a while and there was the chance he would have made a move against you in the meantime."

"But still…" Wufei protested.

"It had to be done," Heero said firmly. "He could not have been arrested and thrown into prison. He had far too many connections and his hands reached further than what you Preventers could have gone. As long as you operated within the law, your hands were tied."

"So, you decided to take him out," Wufei said bleakly. In a perverse way, he could see what the others were saying. During the war he might have done the same-- heck they had done the same thing with the OZ bases. Gone in and blown them up, not bothering to ask the people in there if they wanted a cup of tea and questionnaire to fill out.

"The four of us talked it over and thought this solution the best," Duo said firmly. "We had moved you here so one of us had to stay here. Heero had to come with us since he is the one with the most field experience. Neither Quatre, Trowa nor I have been in the field in a while, so we were rusty."

"At least Trowa and Duo put in a little physical exercise in their line of work," Quatre said, sounding rueful. "All I ever do is ring for my secretary."

Wufei remained silent, seeing the logic in what was said.

"It's been a while since I've done something that wild," Duo said, his voice laced with laughter.

"I've been a little sick and tired of playing pacifist industrialist recently," Quatre joined in. "I wonder if I could blow up the next charity function I have to attend to."

"Oh, no," Wufei said, alarmed. "Don't you dare even think of doing a repeat performance!" He knew just how good the Gundam pilots were at what they did, even if they claimed to be 'rusty'. He'd never survive in the peacekeeping business if all of them decided to revert to their former ways. He almost smiled before remembering that he was supposed to be angry with them-- especially Heero who'd just gone and blown up a person he'd considered to be a threat to Wufei.

"I could have handled him," Wufei said finally. "You don't need to go and blow up people just because you think their after my…me. It's not like this is the first time it's happened."

"But it's the first time you were blind," Duo said soberly. "Wufei, the reason no one wanted to stay with you – the reason we drew straws was because …well…" he cleared his throat and then tried again. "Because Sally wasn't sure if your eyes, especially your left eye could be saved or not. It was touch and go for a while and it wasn't even confirmed until yesterday. Whoever stayed behind would have had to break the news to you and none of us wanted to do that."

"We all know just how important your job is," Quatre said gently. "How important it is for you to be independent."

Wufei titled his head down and remained silent.

"It was to be my last mission," Heero said suddenly and Wufei jerked his head up. "If you were going to be blind, I would have never taken on another job. I was going to stay with you forever."

"No one can could put up with me forever," Wufei said weakly, a lump forming in his throat. "I'm …hard to get along with in the best of days…I'm prone to mood swings and…and…you'd have gotten sick of me and wished you could have a mission instead…"

"You are my mission," Heero said in a flat voice. "Sometimes, some missions take a life time to complete."

Wufei didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure he could have said anything even if he'd wanted to. He coughed, her cleared his throat and finally remembered to breath a little.

"Yuy…Heero…"

"Is this where you have the sunset, the music, the confessions of undying love?" Duo said sounding amused. "I think I'll go stand in the corridor outside."

"You can go and smile at the old lady again," Quatre agreed. "I think I'll join you. I can introduce Trowa to her."

"Uh…guys…" Wufei said, feeling embarrassed. He could feel the large expanse of a blush that was surely spreading over his face and upper torso. "You stay here. …I think I'll have a talk with Heero in the bedroom."

"Well, remember to use plenty of lube," Duo said flippantly.

"You are remarkably well informed for a straight guy," Quatre said dryly.

"Bedroom, Heero," Wufei said, standing up a little unsteadily. Having his eyes bandaged seemed to have affected his sense of balance as well.

"Hn," said Heero, and Wufei felt Heero standing up as well and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I want to take these bloody bandages off," Wufei grumbled.

"Trowa?" Heero asked immediately.

"Bedroom is darker," Trowa said thoughtfully. "All right, I guess. The only reason Sally said the bandages have go on again was that too much light might not be good for your eyes. Try not to strain them-- that means don't lift heavy objects, don't sleep face down, avoid direct blows to the eye…do I need to list them?"

"I'm just going to talk to Heero," Wufei said, blushing again. "Not what… Maxwell suggested."

"Go for it, Heero," Duo called out as Heero led Wufei towards the bedroom. Making a mental note to kill the annoying long-haired man later, Wufei let himself be steered in that direction.

1111111111-----------------------------!11111111111111111111

Wufei let Heero pull off the bandages slowly, his heart beating. "Um," he said to break the sudden shyness he was feeling. "You could have waited until I'd come around."

"Not possible," Heero said shortly. "The longer we had waited, the more time Mendez and his group would have had to come up with a second attack. Plus, there was your partner to think of."

Wufei remained silent, feeling slightly embarrassed. He had forgotten all about Sharine despite the vid-call he'd received earlier.

"And I wanted to be there when you woke up," Heero said, pulling off the last of the bandages. "Sally must have changed the dosage of the sedative since you came out of it quicker than anticipated."

"We should talk," Wufei said. "You know you said that…those things about life long missions and all but…" Even he wasn't sure if he'd be able to look after Heero for the rest of his life if Heero was incapacitated in any way. A part of him knew he could and would but another part of him wondered he'd _wanted_ to do that.

"We'll never know now, will we?" Heero said reasonably. "Sometimes some things are just best left that way."

"It was the thought that counted," Wufei said as Heero scrutinized his face closely.

"It's a matter of trust," Heero said, stepping closer so their bodies touched. "Like dancing. Most people think fun and music when they hear the word but the best way to enjoy it is to dance with someone. And sometimes, you have to trust your partner to lead and not step on your toes…"

"I thought it was a vertical expression of a horizontal des…" Wufei started to say then stopped. He was starting to sound like Duo, which was a big no-no in any situation.

"That too," Heero agreed. "But also one where you have to believe that if you jump up your partner will catch you." Before Wufei could comment on that Heero leaned forward gently and placed a chaste kiss on Wufei's lips.

It was because Heero treated him like cut-glass that Wufei decided to force the issue that he was not about to break. And at the moment the only way he could do that was by forcing his lips onto Heero's with a little more push- no other reason. Heero responded eagerly, pulling Wufei close to him by wrapping an arm around his ribs in a bone cracking grasp. His other hand pushed Wufei's already loose sweats down to the floor.

Wufei gave a small squeak – manly squeak but still a squeak – and broke the kiss feeling embarrassed about standing naked while his boyfriend – lover – stood fully clothed. He opened his mouth to tell Heero that they needed to talk things over and now might not be the best time to mess around, but Heero spoke first.

"I just want to touch you a little," Heero said, his breathing marginally faster than before. "I wasn't able to get a good look at you since the incident at the hospital – that's all."

Wufei sighed and shut his mouth, grateful Trowa had helped him wash. The decision had been made for better or for worse. He was stuck with Heero and Heero was stuck with him for – maybe the rest of their lives if he believed the things he had been told – and they could talk until the Earth fell into the Sun and they'd still have issues. In the end it was a matter of trust as far as he could see. He had to trust Heero in all aspects of their relationship the same way Heero trusted him.

"Take off the shirt Yuy," he said instead. "I don't think my eyes can handle that much brightness right now."

Heero complied, stepping back instantly and as he did, Wufei shook himself free and made his way to the bedside stand. He was wondering if looking down counted as putting pressure on his healing eyes then decided he didn't need to push his luck. Added to the fact he was feeling slight nervous about walking around his room naked while Heero stood watching him, shirt in hand. Wufei slipped a hand into the drawer and groped blindly, his eyes fixed on Heero all the time. Finally his hand closed on the familiar object, a little squashed and somewhat cold. He walked over to Heero and slapped the tube into his open palm. After all, relationships were based on sex as well

Heero looked at the tube of lube in his hand as if Wufei had handed him a grenade, then gave it back to Wufei.

Wufei handed it back to Heero.

He got it back just as fast.

"It's lube," he said, finally. "We're going to need it if we're to fuck."

"We're not going to," Heero said, though his eyes said otherwise. "Not now." He amended, looking at Wufei's naked form. Wufei decided he was not imagining the flush that crept along Heero's face not the noticeable tenting in the front of his pants. "Put that thing away, Wufei," Heero sounded as if he was convincing himself. "You're hurt and recovering from a surgery. This is not the time."

"It is," said Wufei and handed over the lube, frustrated. "I had an eye operation so if I don't strain myself much…" He thought back to his gay porn videos and decided that though there was a lot of motion, perhaps they could do it so he could lie on his back and not really damage himself further.

"No."

"Yuy," Wufei said n a dangerously low voice. They always said the first time was the hardest and he was finding out just why. Oh yes, there were three other people in the flat but he didn't really want to think about that. Anyway, he really wasn't up to sending those three off on a shopping trip again so really….he could close the door and hope they were quiet. Just how much noise could they generate between the two of them?

"Fine," said Heero, and lobbed the lube back to Wufei. "You fuck me." "Or you could lie on your back and…"

'_The most traveled lube in the world_,' Wufei thought. "I…" he really didn't know how. He'd seen a lot of porn but well, that didn't _really _count and it was matter of trust as he'd originally decided. "You do me." He looked at the lube and wondered. "Do you want me to prep myself?" Well, he knew how to in theory and he'd seen a few clips on how, though most porn skipped that part and went right to the action. Not that he really wanted to or anything and really, this was such a turn off.

"Yes…no…I…" Heero stuttered, his eyes slightly out of focus. "Wufei…"

"Yuy," Wufei ground out. "Take the bloody lube, then fuck me up the ass. Now." He was nervous, he was slightly cold and he could see how romance was going to be the key word in their relationship… Oh, well.

Wufei didn't do scared very well since he had never been really scared in his entire life. He had been scared _for_ other people and once or twice that he might die before he could finish his mission but he hadn't experienced that paralyzing fear of uncertainty before-- and he wasn't about to start. He also didn't know the meaning of the word hesitation. Once his mind was made up he rushed into action, no matter what the situation. He stepped forward and started to work on Heero belt with every intention of stripping Heero of his clothes so they could both be naked.

"Slow down," said Heero as he tried to break free of Wufei inquisitive fingers.

"Well," Wufei pointed out. "You were the one who wanted to do this before." To emphasize the point, he cupped Heero groin through his clothes, feeling his erection twitch.

Wordlessly, Heero picked up Wufei, carried him over to the bed and put him on it, face up. Then he motioned Wufei to stay still – it was the same hand movement they'd used on filed missions to indicate '_enemy sighted, stay flat on the ground' _– then started to pull his jeans down. He finished unbuckling his belt extremely quickly and pushed off his trousers with his eyes fixed on Wufei. Next he kept the lube on the night stand and got on to the bed carefully.

"Tell me to stop the moment it hurts," Heero said, taking all the extra pillows from around them. Wufei just nodded absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on Heero's erection. He had seen it before but not in the context of '_it's about to be stuck up my ass'_ and when he looked at it that way, Heero's penis was huge.

Heero leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, on his chin, and then down his chest. He stopped to flick his tongue over Wufei's nipples but didn't stop long enough to give them undivided attention. His tongue found Wufei's hard muscled, yet slender arms, then a flat, narrow stomach. He teased the little belly button, nibbled on exposed and jutting hipbones.

"We've been at the foreplay stage for long enough," Wufei said slowly, sounding a little breathless. "Can we get on with the main event?"

"The main aim was to get you to relax," Heero said softly.

"I'm on medication," Wufei said flippantly. "If you want me to relax any further, you'll have to hit me on the head."

Heero looked unconvinced as he inched further down, lifted Wufei's legs out of the way, licking over Wufei's erection, sucking his balls briefly before tonguing his hole Heero straightened up, lifted Wufei briefly, then started pushing the pillows under his hips one by one, positioning Wufei's feet flat on the mattress with his knees pushed high wide apart. When Heero was satisfied with the end result, he dove back down to resume what he was doing before.

Wufei was torn between embarrassment – he'd never felt this exposed, not even during the last Preventer physical, and Sally had been the one to do it. The need to tell Heero to stop was overwhelming. Rimming was fine on porn films but in real life it seemed vaguely disgusting, and the urge to make Heero never stop—But God, the feeling was unbelievable.

Heero's tongue wasn't s firm as a finger but it was so good that Wufei's muscles did not even spasm when it forced its way in. He whimpered as his insides were probed and tried to push down on Heero despite his earlier misgivings. Heero drew back finally and smiled a little shakily.

"I could continue but really, I don't think I can last that long."

Wufei made a disappointed noise and wondered if he could grab Heero's head by the hair and force him back down. Then Heero uncapped the tube, took some lube and forced a finger up Wufei's passageway. Wufei was already relaxed so he did not even feel the second finger being added. It felt so damn good. He reached for Heero and their lips locked again, even as Heero's fingers found his prostate. His entire body shook and he arched upwards, teeth clamped tightly together and almost biting down on Heero's ill-situated tongue.

"Heero," he said finally. "Now."

"It's only two fingers," Heero said weakly, while pouring more lube into his palm and slathering it on his erection. Wufei spread his legs wider and growled.

"Now, Yuy."

Heero was happy to oblige.

It hurt. Not a lot- but adequate to snap him out of his trance but not enough for his erection to wilt. He gasped and Heero stilled

"Ok?"

"Yeah."

Heero inched in slowly until he was completely inside. From the look on his face it was obvious he was very pleased with where he was. He gripped Wufei's hips, leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Ok?"

"Yeah."

Heero pulled back a little and pushed in again. He seemed to consider it, adjusted his angle and then …oh….oh…shit…."More" Wufei managed to gasp out.

He lifted his hands to grasp the head board but his right shoulder protested so he gripped it with only his left one. The other he used to touch Heero –his broad back trembling with stress, scared chest, flat stomach with every outline of muscle he could make out in the faint light of the bedroom.

Wufei could feel each and every movement as Heero pushed inside him, brushing his prostate with every stroke. It was a toe curling feeling between pain and pleasure and he wasn't sure if he should scream or groan. His erection bounced a little, trapped between the two of them, leaking clear fluid. Wufei wanted to grasp it but his hand did not feel coordinated enough.

Oh, god, he was so close. But apparently Heero was even closer. His thrusts grew faster and shorter and more forceful, almost shoving Wufei onto the head board. Heero's eyes were unfocused as he continued ram into Wufei's body, his face contorted in pleasure. Then he gave two more sharp thrusts and paused-- then came, filling Wufei's insides.

Wufei could feel Heero pulsing inside him as he relaxed back into the pillow. He held out a hand to ease Heero down, not wanting to have that weight flop down on his battered body, but Heero pulled out gently, slid down and took Wufei's neglected erection in his mouth. Wufei didn't need much prompting.

As soon as Heero's lips closed over the head and slid down his erection, Wufei twitched. Heero took a deep breath, to calm himself down or to bring himself back from the orgasm induced lethargy, then began to mouth and suck on the balls drawn tight to the body, his fingers played with the light brush of dark black pubic hair. Then, just like a big sensual cat, he began to lick the twitching shaft in front of Wufei's eyes. The wet tongue probed the slit just before Heero deep throating him, his tongue torturing and beautifully dexterous, and Wufei had been close to orgasm to being with. He came with a shout, the only real sound he'd made during the entire time as his eyes fluttered shut and his toes curled.

Heero looked satisfied with the outcome as he drew back, swallowing and smiling like a lunatic. Well, Heero smiling was such a novel experience, Wufei wasn't sure he wanted to close his eyes. But his body had decided on its own that it needed to shut down. Even as he fought against it, sleep tugged at him and he could feel himself slipping into…

"Yuy," he snapped awake instantly. "What are you doing…down there?"

"Just checking you," Heero said, his head between Wufei's legs. "You're bleeding slightly." Well, he had been called a tight ass before.

"I didn't even feel it," he said and it was true. Compared to what he had gone through, that was nothing.

"I'll get a tissue and clean you up properly," Heero said, rolling off the bed. Wufei wondered where Heero got the energy to speak, let alone move around. Seeing that Wufei was about to protest, Heero held up a hand. "It'll make me feel better."

"Fine…whatever," Wufei mumbled. "Just don't expect me to be awake when you get back."

a/n-I only have one more chapter left where I tie together all the loose strings. It's sort of like an Epilogue but not quite that. If you want me to address anything in it, drop me a note.

In answer to sylenctone's questions in Chapter 3 and Sancta's suggestion in chapter 4, I'll deal with them in the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews. I don't usually answer them coz I get annoyed when I go to read fic and see a whole host of review replies instead to ppl I know nothing of so assume everyone else is the same. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate getting reviews. hint


	7. Chapter 7

1x5 part 7- Final Chapter

Wufei woke up gradually and tried to open his eyes – and failed. What– oh, yes, bandages. He fingered them lightly and found out that it was rather loosely bound, with the edges untucked, so he could pull them free – more like a reminder for him to keep his eyes closed than anything else. He was alone in bed but there were a warm depression in the mattress next to him, which meant Heero had been there until a short time ago. It made him feel nice since he knew Heero did not believe in lying in bed in the middle of the day for no reason. He put aside his bandages and blinked. His eyes felt strange, prickly, dry and there was a faint throbbing inside – a phantom pain that would not go away. Wufei decided to ignore that for the moment,

He sat up slowly and did a full body check. His cheek hurt like hell so the painkillers were running low in his system, his shoulder hurt, his leg hurt… well, his ass hurt as well but compared to the rest it was nothing. Well, technically nothing, since he'd not hurt there ever since he'd become extremely constipated on some new antibiotics a while back, and even that hadn't been this bad. It was just a new sort of pain and he wondered if he should get used to it becoming a constant one.

As he slipped into loose clothing, he wondered if he should take a shower first. He had been cleaned meticulously by Heero before he'd fallen asleep but he did have his own level of hygiene to maintain. However he decided to forego that in exchange for two pills of painkiller and some food to fight the insistent burn of his stomach acids.

But he wasn't sure if he wanted to go to the sitting room where most likely the rest of the former pilots were. He did not want to face them after what he and Heero had done. It was so… embarrassing and well… how was he supposed to explain that to them? They'd probably heard them fucking on the bed with just a wall to separate them. They were all private people despite being close friends, and sometimes it was better to ignore stuff than bring it to light. But this time, he did not think they were going to turn a blind eye or rather deaf ear to his and Heero's sexual acrobatics. What was he supposed to do? He was not going to go out ever. He did not think he could face Duo, who was going to be the worst ever. Once Quatre had pointed out Duo had the mentality of a male fag hag, and then – seeing the blank look in Wufei's eyes – spent ten minutes explaining what that meant. Wufei wasn't looking forward to finding out just what exactly it entailed. He was going to sit in his bedroom until the pain killer ate a hole through his empty stomach.

All right, he had to go out.

Wufei stumbled into the sitting room stifling a yawn, hitching up his sweats with one hand while scratching his chest through the ratty t-shirt with the other. He stopped at the sight blinking a little as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. that greeted him, debated whether it was worth running back into the bedroom then decided against it. It was, after all, he reasoned, his apartment.

The four were playing cards in the sitting room, sitting on cushions on the floor in a loose circle. They all looked up at his arrival and Heero moved to stand up but Wufei waved him down.

"I'm fine," he said with a slight blush. He just had to walk without limping, that was all. "I'll just grab something to eat and join you."

"Sit," said Duo grabbing a cushion off the sofa and thumping it onto the ground. "I kept your soup in the microwave. I'll just heat it up and get if for you."

"Soup," said Wufei making a face. He had been hoping for something solider. But he was also grateful no one had mentioned anything about his recent activities Maybe Heero, if he had any common sense, would have already dealt with that problem.

"You can't have anything really solid," Duo said pointing to his cheek. "Cracked cheek bones tend to object to that, even if they are healed. What you can do is dunk your toast into it until it's well soaked through and…anyway I saved an extra fluffy pillow for you."

"I get the idea," said Wufei sitting between Quatre and Heero on the cushion provided for him. Everyone had been sitting cross legged but Wufei did not want to attempt that. It would pull certain muscles in certain areas he rather not stressed but he did not want to sit with his feet stuck in front of him. It was so undignified to sit like that but how…He finally settled for lowering himself down carefully, angled towards Quatre. The blond helped him down with a hand on his lower back, something he would have found insulting a year earlier. Now, he no longer had his stiff pride to get in the way of relaxing with his friends.

As he sat, Quatre let his hand slid around Wufei's slender waist and pull him so he was leaning against the blond's side. Being taller and wider than him, Quatre was solid enough for him to lean against and he sighed softly. That was a little better. And, yes, he didn't think he was going to be able to sit on anything hard for a while. Damn Yuy!

"So," said Trowa as he dealt the cards. "You can support Heero if you want to but we're in the middle of a game so you'll have to wait to join in."

"I'll pass," Wufei said as Duo came back surprisingly fast with a steaming bowl of soup and instant noodle mixture with a large spoon stuck in it.

"Would you have preferred chop sticks?" Duo asked. "Found a few in your kitchen but… you are going to slurp then and that might not be good for your cheeks so, spoon."

"This is fine, thank you," Wufei said as he took the bowl, his stomach growling at the appetizing smell.

"Uh," said Quatre, who elbowed Trowa, who looked away then back at Wufei. Then he looked at Duo, who looked at Heero. Was it…

"What?" Wufei said in frustration even as he slurped in the contents of his bowl. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't fooling anyone. He was coloring nicely but decided against hiding his face.

"You got the bed from those two, right?" asked Duo, pointing at Quatre and Trowa. "It must be pretty solid. Not even a squeak and the headboard didn't even hit the wall once."

"Maybe someone needs to go look at the headboard," Quatre said suddenly. "Heero perhaps."

Wufei stopped eating at that unsubtle hint to get Heero out of the room and looked up. "What…" He did not need to voice his question since Heero seemed to have expected it. He got up smoothly and, leaning down, gave Wufei's good shoulder a small squeeze before he continued towards the bedroom.

"We do need to speak with you," Quatre explained softly. "Just you and not your other half. Now might not be the best of times but we really did need to have this conversation some time back so…"

"Look, if you want Heero back, we'll call him back and the talk can wait," Duo said seriously as he looked straight at Wufei.

Wufei took a deep breath and shook his head. These were his friends. He saw less of them than he saw of Heero and that was because Heero came to him. His job and his lifestyle kept him effectively Earth-bound while the rest had time to colony hop. They had not seen each other in a long time but they were the people he trusted the most in the entire universe. "What is it?" he asked in a level voice.

Silence ensued, filled with a lot of eye movements between the other three that looked like 'you ask- no it's your turn to ask.'

"Heero said you bled," Trowa said finally with the face of someone dragging out a dead rat from the punch after everyone had taken a drink from it.

Wufei chocked on his soup.

"So…uh…do you usually bleed?" Quatre asked with the ferocity of someone stepping into the path of a charging bull. "In case you were wondering, the question has first been directed at me from Heero so I thought I'll follow through."

"I don't have hemorrhoids," Wufei muttered, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him.

"Do you usually bleed during sex?" Quatre amended looking as uncomfortable as Wufei felt.

"I wouldn't know," Wufei forced out through gritted teeth.

"You mean…"

"Woo-hoo!" yelled Duo making them all jump. "You mean our little Wu-Wu just lost his virginity? This calls for a celebration party!"

"Don't call me little Wu-Wu," Wufei barked, mentally strangling Duo. "And I was _not_ a virgin." Yes, humiliation can take you to new levels of homicidal rages.

"Was it really the first time for you and Heero?" Quatre asked quietly, his face serious. "The very first time?"

"Yes," Wufei said abruptly, wanting to get the whole episode over with. "It was my first time with any man."

"Well that explains why you were…" Quatre started to say then stopped hastily looking away. "Let me get you some more soup," he said, taking the bowl from Wufei and standing up with a wince. He rubbed his left knee with his free hand then limped towards the kitchen, leaving Wufei frowning at his back.

"What?" Wufei asked mystified. "What was he going to say?"

"So," said Duo overly casually. "Do you mean you and Heero are officially together now?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wufei bit out.

"I thought so too," Trowa said firmly. "I was with Wufei while you were out."

"What do you mean?" Wufei repeated, mystified. "And if you are referring to Trowa molesting me…"

"I sort of figured it out you know," Trowa said casually. "When you didn't respond to my flirting as you should have."

"I don't want to even know what your excuses are for your behavior," Wufei shouted in frustration, making his teeth hurt in the process. "Just tell me in plain English what you're on to."

"We thought you and Heero were fuck buddies," Duo told Wufei bluntly. "That you regularly fuck when Heero goes out on missions."

"I… what!"

"Here, have some more soup," said Quatre, thrusting a steaming bowl into his hands.

"I don't want any more fucking soup." Wufei made to stand up, winced as all his muscles protested, fell back into the cushion and winced again. "Just explain to me what you people are talking about. You thought I was cheating on Yuy?"

"The thing is," Duo said thoughtfully. "Heero keeps tabs on you. It's pretty easy… it's just a credit card tab really, and I helped him with the basic program. And then when you took your little girls to these cheap motels they do show up. Then he'd hack into their lobby cameras and watch those recordings for days and kick around the house for another week before calming down."

"I…" Wufei wasn't sure if he was angry at the invasion on privacy or feel sorry for Heero for what he had gone through. If what Heero had told him was true, Heero had liked him for a long time, and to know that Wufei was sleeping with other people must have been very painful for him. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked softly, stirring his soup half-heartedly.

"We thought you two were together," Duo said finally. "I mean, we've been here before, remember? And we know the layout of the apartment… one bedroom apartment with a single bed, I must stress. When Quatre suggested a bed as a house warming gift, he thought it was so you two could use it and all. Plus, this is Heero's home base. He might crash in on one of us when he's free but we all know this is where he comes when he wants to relax"

"So I'm the only blind person here," Wufei said softly. "Literally." He looked down at his soup, which was cooling into an unappealing brown substance, and took a mouthful of it anyway to keep himself busy. It tasted just as good as the first bowl had and he wondered absentmindedly which of them made it.

"Maybe," said Trowa. "But we all kept imagining things that weren't there. You were always a private person so we assumed you just didn't want to mention anything about the two of you."

"Is this why I am always assigned to the same room as Heero every time we have one of your get-togethers?" Wufei said faintly amused.

"You always show up with Heero," Duo pointed out. "And you never protest about being roomed with Heero."

"Maybe we should change the subject," Heero said, abruptly entering the room, and everyone relaxed a little.

"Not before you tell me about you shadowing every move of mine," Wufei said, looking up and frowning. "I'm too tired to work up a screaming rage and really not in the mood to hear weak excuses. Just tell me Heero, did you really play stalker to…"

"I wasn't stalking you," Heero said with a shrug as he settled back into his previous position. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I…asked Lady Une to keep me informed if anything were to happen to you and…"

"You couldn't have called me and asked?" Wufei said as he looked at Heero.

"I wasn't sure where I stood with you," Heero said with a shrug.

"That's stupid Yuy," Wufei said with a small smile. He'd discovered that he was in too good a mood to really work up any anger at the breach of privacy by his new lover. "You were my friend if nothing else. Just…don't do that again, all right?" He gave a low laugh and continued. "It's not like I'll be taking any girls to cheap motels from now on."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--------------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wufei wanted to crawl into bed and close his eyes. He was tired – as tired as he had been after his last three-day mission in Nigeria, somewhere close to the Sahara border. He was surprised by just how much of a toll the recent action had taken on his body. He closed his eyes briefly and leaned against the back of the sofa …and Heero's shoulder as the rest went on with their business.

"Dinner," Duo said, annoyingly enthusiastic. "I guess it's take out."

"Unless you want to cook," Trowa offered from his seat by the window. Wufei wasn't sure if he was keeping an eye on the street below or simply enjoying the view. Probably a bit of both since old habits died hard.

"Pizza," Duo decided.

"I don't think Wufei can eat pizza," Quatre said cautiously as he leaned against the far wall, reading a financial news paper.

"They had that pizza flavored yogurt as well somewhere," Duo said reaching for the vid-phone.

"Wufei doesn't want to eat," Wufei mumbled sleepily; he was starting to feel comfortable despite the aches and pains, leaning against his lover.

"Perhaps we should just leave," Quatre said. "And leave Wufei alone. He seems to be fine now and…"

"I forgot to ask," Wufei said opening his eyes. He was being a lousy host to his friends. "Where are you spending the night? You aren't going back home so soon, are you?" He could not offer everyone a place to sleep for the night in his apartment but he felt guilty about turning them out for the night.

"We've booked a room at the Winner residential," Trowa said with a shrug. "Duo is still not sure as to where he's going to stay the night."

"You can crash here," Wufei told Duo truthfully. "No bother, you know that, right?"

"In your bed?" Duo leered.

"Sure," Wufei said with a faint smile. "Heck, you can even have Heero if you want. I don't think I want him any more after finding out he's been tracking me all this time and not telling me things…" He looked up sharply, alert. "What?"

"They have banana flavored pizza with a dash of mustard," Trowa said helpfully and very unconvincingly.

"Is that the code for 'I'm-hiding-something-else-from-Wufei'," Wufei asked dryly, shaking himself and sitting upright with a grimace. "Spill… before I decide to have another siss– hissy-fit and frankly, I'm too tired to get worked up."

"Oh," said Duo trying to be casual and failing. "It's no big deal. Really."

"Try me," Wufei said in a steely voice, which usually had his subordinates ducking for cover at the office.

"Your friend came to visit while you were sleeping and we sort of turned h…this person away," Quatre said with an apologetic shrug.

"Who exactly showed up?" Wufei asked with a sinking feeling. He thought he knew who but he could do with a confirmation.

"A blonde with big boobs," Duo injected suddenly, smiling in an embarrassed way. "You know." He added and cupped his hands over his chest to emphasize size. Wufei decided that Duo was exaggerating since he knew the size of her uniform. Sharine did not have such large breasts, unless she'd decided to get silicon implants while he was having eye surgery.

"What about her?" he asked, looking at the long-haired man questioningly.

"She dropped by a couple of hours ago," Duo said with a smile. "And wouldn't go away even when I told her you were resting."

"You what?" Wufei growled out.

"Hey," said Duo leaning back, hands held up as if to fend off an attack. "It was Heero's idea. He said I was to chase her off so I tried everything from…you know, my …sex appeal…" he leered meaningfully and Wufei groaned. What Duo said probably translated into him making a go at Sharine like a psychotic maniac. It usually did work when they wanted to chase girls _away_ but then again, Wufei's partner was not simply a 'girl'.

Wufei smirked. "Where did she punch you?"

Duo scowled and looked away. "Stomach," he grumbled. "She said she was aiming lower."

"She wasn't" Wufei said knowingly. "She would have used her knee otherwise. So why did she leave?"

"She left when Heero came to the door and said, I quote, 'Wufei is sleeping. He exhausted himself with strenuous activity and he needs rest' end quote," Duo said smirking back at Wufei. "And in a tone that wouldn't leave any questions of what exactly Wufei was doing to be exhausted, coming out of the bedroom looking as if he had just hastily dressed."

"He didn't," said Wufei, sagging back into the sofa. "Please tell me he didn't."

"He did," Quatre said apologetically as he folded the newspaper and handed it over to Trowa. "We all heard."

"God, you people," Wufei practically screamed. "I do need to return to work you know? If you screw with my partner…"

"That was your partner?" Duo whistled to show his appreciation. "She's got class."

"She was awfully concerned about you," Quatre said tentatively.

"The day I showed up here, she answered the door in Wufei's shirt and nothing else," Heero said in a snide voice.

"Oh," said Quatre and looked away.

"It's not what you think," Wufei seethed. "Dammit, Heero, you know it isn't. Don't go around insinuating things."

"I wasn't," Heero said, looking away. "I just told them what happened. I don't like her. She's too pushy."

"Good for you…" Wufei stated heatedly when Duo stood up and dusted his hands. "Speaking of women, it's time I made a call to mine. Mind if I make a vid-call Wu-Wu?"

Wufei shut his mouth and glowered at Duo without avail. "Don't. Call. Me. Wu-Wu."

Duo pouted and swung his braid. "He looks cute when he's angry, doesn't he Heero?" he asked teasingly.

"Just go make your call," Wufei said grudgingly. "Heero and I are not about to have a fight over Sharine. Use the extension in the room. That way you can speak to Hilde in peace."

"Thanks," said Duo, walking into the room and in the ensuing silence Wufei looked at the other two.

"You know it's not going to go through," Quatre said to Trowa who was still looking at the streets below.

"What do you mean?" Wufei asked in surprise. Was there a solar flare he'd not heard of?

"Duo is having some family problems, so to speak," Quatre said with a shrug. "Figured it was the family situation and all. She wasn't too keen on adopting kids in the first place and …"

"Why did they adopt kids?" Wufei said after a while. "I mean, I know Duo wanted to save some orphans but he could have gone for the test-tube…"

"He can't," Trowa said abruptly standing up. "He came to L4 to run some tests and the doctor said it was probably a lot of things starting with him being starved as a kid, and Hilde can't because she got most of her insides messed up sp…"

"Hey," said Duo emerging from the bedroom, frowning. "Can't get through…"

"Could be a solar flare," Wufei offered. "Happens all the time."

"I guess," said Duo settling back into his old place. "So, what were you talking about?"

"Um," said Quatre looking at Heero.

"We were just discussing you and Hilde's…"

"…kids," Wufei managed to inject while stepping on Heero's toes. Even though they were both barefoot Wufei managed to ground his heel into Heero's foot firmly enough to shut him up. "Heero told me you've adopted two children. I've been so busy these days I haven't had the chance to congratulate you."

"Want to see them?" Duo's face split up in a smile and Wufei felt stunned. Duo looked so happy that he looked sixteen again. Duo fished around in his back pocket, mumbling, "Was going to get 3D holos of them but you know…the last shipment from the junkyard didn't come through. But I've got photos and…"

Wufei leaned forward and snagged the dog-eared photos from his friend and looked at them carefully. "Uh," he said with surprise. "Your oldest is a girl." In most Chinese families parents hope for a son to lead the family and look after younger siblings. Somehow the upbringing had stuck to Wufei no matter how far removed he was from that world.

"She's about four, we think," Duo said with a smile. "Can't be sure. Her mother was an addict and sold her to me for five credits and a bottle of soda. On L2, most girls don't make it past the age of five unless you're in the trade, and even then…"

"I thought that was dealt with by the authorities," Wufei said, going to Preventer mode automatically.

"What can you do about kids who don't exist, who are born to parents who are walking dead?" Duo said without missing beat. "You know what I mean."

"I…" Wufei looked down and sighed. He knew exactly what Duo meant. With the new laws in place, Preventers could not interfere with anything as long as it was not strictly illegal. This meant people had to ask for help but like Duo pointed out, most kids born in L2 were not registered in the Colony's census department since they were born on the streets to parents who were drug addicts and most of the times not yet adults themselves. If they did not exist they could not ask for help since the moment the authorities got wind of unregistered citizens, they were shipped off to the ore mines. "I'd like to come and visit your children one of these days," he said instead. "It'd be nice to see them in person."

"Would you," Duo perked up. "They're with Quatre's sister for the time being but I think I'll take them back to the Yard when I go back."

Wufei did not ask if Hilde was also at Quatre's sisters as well, but instead nodded and said, "I have some free time coming up and I haven't visited your Yard in ages."

"And perhaps you could …" Duo hesitated for a bit then said in a rush, "…teach them something, too."

Wufei froze in surprise. Of the five of them, Wufei had always subconsciously known that he was the most educated. He had received an extensive education before the war started and he had followed it up once it was over. He was not as educated as he'd once hoped to become but he was satisfied with his night courses and his ongoing studies.

Quatre probably knew a lot about the financial world and Trowa, as Quatre's husband in everything but name, probably knew enough to take over the Winner business, should the need ever arise. Heero was a mixed lot. Wufei knew Heero could quote obscure poetry by heart but would look blank at the mention of Othello. Could do advanced trigonometry in his head but wouldn't know the difference between integration and differentiation.

Duo had fared the worst of the five of them. He had not had much education as a child and now was a junkyard owner living with a former OZ space suit pilot. He struggled to make ends meet. During the war he had spent some undercover time at boarding schools but Wufei wasn't sure just how much time he'd spent learning anything. None of them ever thought of offering Duo money; he was too proud for that. But Wufei wasn't sure just how learned Duo was; he was a good mechanic but most of what he knew was what he had learned through hard earned experience. Wufei did not think his long-haired friend had the time and the funds for night classes or correspondence courses.

He looked at Duo, staring at him with wide purple eyes, and smiled. "I'd be honored," he said seriously and bowed formally to show just how much that offer meant to him.

"So," Duo said with another smile. "Have you two thought of having children?"

"Duo," Quatre said hurriedly. "It might be a little too soon for them, you know."

"You mean adopt," Heero asked, looking slightly interested, which in turn made Wufei feel worried.

"No, no," Duo hurried to clarify. "Unlike me – I don't think you guys shoot blanks and yes, I can guess what you were talking about while I was out of the room…" everyone, apart from Heero had the decency to look embarrassed. Heero simply looked puzzled and Wufei wondered fondly if Heero would ever learn that manners are that important.

"We're sorry," Trowa spoke up first. "It really wasn't any of our business and…"

"Guys," Duo interrupted with a wave of his hands. "It's all right. I don't care. What I was going to suggest was test tube babies… you know like in Quatre's family."

"We were considering that," Trowa admitted slowly. "There is a new procedure where two men can have a baby too. Something about it being able to extract the DNA from both sperms and merging it."

"And there is a higher possibility of the child being a boy," Quatre injected. "25 or something." [1

"What do you mean?" Wufei asked in surprised.

"Well, in test tube babies, there is a higher probability of the child being a girl if you let it develop on its own," Quatre explained. "Why do you think all thirty-nine of my sisters are test tube babies? My father wasn't exactly trying for a harem but he didn't want to mess with the end result more than necessary

"If you know all that, does that mean you've thought of the possibility of having kids?" Wufei asked the blond cautiously.

"Somewhat," Trowa answered in his lover's place. "We do want kids and we're not children ourselves. We did go to the L4 Genetech to make sure we don't have any mutation lurking around waiting to be passed on to the next generation."

"It would be nice," Heero said thoughtfully. "Having kids – with…" he drifted off when he met the steely glare of Wufei's dark eyes. "…I wasn't going to suggest that you join in the baby rush."

"Good," Wufei snapped angrily. "Because I'd seriously like to know how the heck we can raise kids when we can barely keep ourselves alive. If I ever do have kids it'd be when I no longer have a gun in my hand and a target on my back…"

"If we have kids, you mean," Heero said, sounding a little confused.

"It's not exactly as if you stay in one place long enough to raise a child," Wufei told him heatedly.

"Guys," said Duo standing up. "I'm sorry I brought this up. We've all had a long day so maybe we should just get something to eat and call it a night."

"No, it's all right," Wufei said looking away from the hurt look that appeared on Heero's face. "I'm…just a little under the weather…"

"No, you're correct" said Quatre quietly. "We do have to make some drastic changes to the way we live if we're to have children, you know."

"You mean like your tendency to dress in those pink maid uniforms?" Duo said teasingly and much to Wufei's surprise the blond blushed.

"You do!" he blurted out before he could help it.

"We all have our preferences," Trowa said softly as he walked over to Quatre and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So we have our kinks. What of it?" His eyes were challenging as he looked over at the rest. But it was not hostile and Wufei was aware that everyone was waiting for him to freak out.

"I'm not like that," he said in defense, though he did remember that during the war he had been rather loud in his opinions about other people's sexual preferences. "I've seen enough weird things in the time as a law enforcer to freak out if Quatre likes to wear pink frilled apron."

"You have photos of that?" Heero suddenly asked and Wufei picked up a cushion to smother him with.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"So…what do you intend to do now?" Quatre asked Wufei as he dealt a card face down to Duo. It was cards all over again. It was not as if they actually played the game and Wufei still had no idea as to what they were doing but it was relaxing. They were, again, seated on the floor, this time with Wufei leaning against the back of the sofa next to Trowa. The rules of the game were simple; every player would bet something other than money or goods that can be brought. It could be favors but not sexual – food was allowed. Duo had introduced it to them as a leftover from his days on the street and they had accepted it without question.

Wufei decided it was childish to pretend he did not understand the contents of the question. "I don't know," he said honestly, avoiding eye contact with Heero.

"You do have some down time, don't you?" Duo pointed out as he turned over his card, made a face and then passed it on to Trowa.

"I have some leave collected," Wufei agreed.

"What if you quit the Preveters," Trowa said abruptly as he passed the card to Heero without even looking at it.

Wufei looked up startled, thought over what he had to do and shook his head as if to clear his mind. "It's…" He tried to explain his situation. Being a Preventer was all he knew. He had no family, no colony, no Gundam, no war to fight for, and definitely no cause. He was a warrior without a purpose and being a Preventer, wearing a uniform and hunting down criminals gave him a purpose. "…all I know," he finished weakly.

"There will be an investigation regarding the attack on you," Heero pointed out calmly as he picked up the card and looked confused. "What do I do with a joker?" he asked.

"I didn't shuffle that in," Quatre exclaimed leaning forward and pulling it out of Heero's grasp. "Duo, did you just palm a card?"

"Who…" Duo looked up, his purple eyes wide open, giving him an innocent look. "Me?"

"No," said Trowa as he took the pack of cards from Quatre along with the cards in Duo's grasp. "The tooth fairy must have done it."

"Do you mind," Wufei growled in frustration. "I…"

"…won't be allowed back until the present investigation at the Preventer headquarters is completed," Heero said firmly. "I spoke to Une earlier and she thought it best if you took that time to recover."

"You think I should quit," Wufei stated softly.

"I think you aren't as happy doing what you do as you used to," Heero told him bluntly. "You said it yourself. Preventers isn't about just crime and punishment anymore, it's mixed up with politics and the core of the organization is corrupted."

"I know," Wufei said in frustration. "But what do you suggest I do? Globe trotting with Heero sounds like fun but it's not just fun, is it? I don't even know what sort of jobs you're doing these days… are you a mercenary?" It was the first time he'd asked about Heero's job directly.

"Nothing like that," Heero said, looking at Wufei steadily. "But if I tell you I'll have to kill you."

Wufei looked up at that and smirked. "I'd like to see you try," he said dryly.

Heero looked at the others and shrugged. "Not when you have back-up."

"So, what do you do?" Wufei asked deciding to let the other topic slide. He'd test his skills against Heero when he was fully recovered.

"I investigate likely threats in all aspects on all colonies, asteroids, anything," Heero said without breaking eye contact. Wufei blinked since his eyes were starting to dry but continued to keep his mouth shut. Next to him, Quatre stirred but remained silent, realizing just how important Heero's revelation was. "That's what I am… an investigator. Though what I do involves a lot of stealth, stalking and breaking the law. Sometimes, if a threat is too great, I have to eliminate it. I don't mean killing people. Sometimes it's destroying weapon blue prints or sabotaging a process so its creators would think it a failure and give up on it. It's more complicated than that but I can't go into details now…we don't have the time. I just don't have to go through the red tape like Preventers do."

"And you want me to come with you," Wufei said pointedly.

"Sometimes, there are two man jobs," Heero said reluctantly.

"Sometimes." Wufei scowled.

"How about a compromise?" Quatre asked as he looked at the two of them.

"Meaning?" Wufei looked at Quatre angrily. Compromise was a diplomatic word used to pacify balding men to prevent them from cutting off their budgets.

"Une will never let you go," Trowa said as he gave the cards to be cut by Heero. "She knows you're the best agent they've got."

"My partner is proficient," Wufei said out of habit. Heero scowled and Duo managed a snort.

"But Une will never agree to let you go," Trowa said getting back on topic. "You could do what Heero does. Stay with the Preventers as an outside consultant. You could choose your cases that way and you'd have more free time. Since you are already a Preventer you would have more access to everything and you'd probably be able to keep your rank."

"I don't care about rank," Wufei said, though the idea was appealing. No more drunken domestic violence cases, no more mopping up snot-nosed kids high on the latest synth-drug from the labs.

"Plus, you are more analytical that Heero," Quatre pointed out. "No offence Heero but you do think more in terms of explosives and bullets, you know? Wufei could be useful when analyzing a situation."

"I know," Heero agreed readily, taking his cards. "He could even stay here while I send him reports and analyze them…"

"Nice try, Yuy," Wufei said smiling openly. "Either I'm in or I'm not. No two ways about it." Then to show that the conversation was over, he turned to Quatre and said. "Is that what you mean by a compromise?"

"Which is what Trowa and I do," Quatre said with a shrug. "We both have families, our own lives and still we've made **us** work." Seeing Wufei's confused expression he hurried to explain. "We both spend time together, sometimes on L4 and sometimes at the circus." Wufei nodded. He knew that since the last time he'd dropped in on the circus, Trowa's trailer had been a communication room for Winner enterprises and Quatre had been in the middle of a vid-conference. "Sometimes, some of my associates are not that…um…understanding about Trowa and my relationship so we don't go on those business trips together. Then he stays with the circus and I stay on L4."

"It's just that while we can rub it in those old geezers' faces, Quatre runs a business," Trowa added softly. "He respects their whishes and in return they pretend they don't know about us."

"I think I get what you mean," Wufei said thoughtfully. "Heero and I aren't children who need to see each other constantly." He wasn't sure he really liked saying that, even if it was the truth. But he just didn't want to sound too needy or clingy. It just wasn't him but still, he knew his and Heero's relationship would never be like the ones shown in those sugar sweet romantic movies.

"But it would be nice," Heero said softly and Wufei looked at Heero, eyes wide. "Yuy," he said in disbelief, heart thumping loudly. "That's…" The word on the tip of his tongue was "sweet" but it would sound so wrong to associate such a sappy word with Heero Yuy the killing machine.

"You two are new to this aren't you," Quatre said with a knowing smile. "You're in the honeymoon phase so enjoy it while it lasts."

"Yes, 'cause afterwards you'll want to play dress up in maid's costumes with whips and high heels and…" Duo started to laugh openly. "Like certain people I know who…"

"Shut up, Maxwell," Trowa ground out with a slightly embarrassed voice.

"Why," Duo demanded. "We're making heck of a job making Wu-Wu blush like a virgin on her wedding night…oh, damn I forgot, it was his fi…umph…"

"Just because you don't have any dirty laundry to air doesn't mean we're going to let you do that you know?" Heero said, hand over Duo's mouth. "Stop picking on Wufei. Any more and he'll combust."

"Thank you," said Wufei, pushing aside his card. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you guys."

"But the fact you are means you are actually considering leaving the Preventers and teaming up with Heero," Trowa observed.

Wufei silently handed back his cards and thought it over then nodded. "I guess we could always come back here when we're not busy."

"Flexible time table," Heero replied. "Some missions take time but sometimes I get up to three months in between."

"And in that time I could go to L2 to look into that child-selling business," Wufei said, looking at Duo, who promptly dropped his cards and threw his hands around Wufei in a hug.

"You will? Oh, man that'd be great!" he said.

"And we can visit L4," Heero said with a small smile. "To…"

"Have a foursome?" Duo asked enthusiastically. "Invite me when you do, I'd love to watch."

"He's straight," Quatre muttered to Trowa in a fake whisper.

"Never mind that," answered Trowa, collecting all the cards. "We'll discuss the details later. Place your bets, everyone. New game."

"Wufei, bet something," Quatre said, turning towards him.

"Uh…" Wufei thought over his possessions. "I don't know…what…"

"How about your porn collection under the floor board," Duo quipped making him color.

"I didn't know it was there," Heero observed.

"You weren't supposed to," Wufei mumbled while Trowa sniggered.

"Uh…Heero," said Quatre, trying to dissipate the situation.

"I can bet anything I have?" Heero asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Y….es," the blond said a little wearily.

"I bet…" Heero pondered for a moment. "…Wufei."

Wufei carefully put his cards down. "Start running, Yuy, and it had better not be towards the bedroom."

-----------------

A/N- Now that is love.

Finished. Finally. Ha, that's what I get for trying to write a one-shot.

[1 In reality, according to my beta…50, if you consider all combinations of XY-XY. But I think that, seeing as the percentage of failure is pretty high: 25 (if you get two Y chromosomes) the doctors would not leave it to chance and would probably select the right DNA and know the gender before they begin the procedure. Btw, that's the same percentage for male offspring you'd get with combining XY-XX, except that there, the 25 chance for failure of the XY-XY combination would be eliminated and added to the 25 chance for female offspring.

Ah- First of all, thank you for all of you who reviewed and stuck with me to the end. Sometimes I didn't update on time and sometimes my writing stunk. You get points for endurance.

Secondly, I left a lot of open threads in his final chapter like Duo's family, Quatre and Trowa's likes and dislikes, even Wufei and Heero's future. Kids, work. I didn't want to give definite answers because I hate to think that they stopped living as soon as this story ended.

They will have a compromise, work, play, fuck. Who knows I might pick up a thread and write a drabble for it—maybe-- eventually. Just not now.

I you have questions or anything else just feel free to drop me a message. Leave your e-mail address and I'll try to get back to you, ASAP.

Special thanks goes to my beta who helped me get this fic online and made it readable. Thank you Stray.


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